2020-12-15 OMA Agenda - Board of Trustees

What is already known about this subject? • Whether via obesity medicine specialists, or general clinicians, the management of patients with obesity differs among different medical settings. • Obesity medicine is especially well-suited for telehealth evaluations and interventions due to the prioritization of motivational interviewing, nutrition and physical activity education, and behavior therapy. • Phentermine is a Drug Enforcement Agency controlled substance. Some clinicians do not prescribe controlled substances in general, or phentermine specifically; other clinicians frequently prescribe phentermine for treatment of their patients with obesity. • Phentermine has a Food and Drug Administration indicated use for short-term treatment of obesity and is contraindicated in patients with cardiovascular disease. Obesity is a life-long disease. Among otherwise appropriate patients at low cardiovascular disease risk, phentermine use for longer than 12 weeks is supported by clinical data and supported by expert scientific publications. What are the new findings in your manuscript? • While some clinicians have utilized telehealth for health care delivery for years, the use of telehealth has substantially increased since the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. • In its 2021 Obesity Algorithm, the Obesity Medicine Association provided guidance on the “ADAPT” Telehealth Obesity Management Model, that includes A ssessment, D iagnosis, A dvice (and Education), P rognosis, and T reatment. • This current manuscript provides guidance as to the safe administration of anti-obesity medications, via telehealth. This expert consensus was drafted by obesity medicine authors having a wide spectrum of clinical experiences, including academia, primary care, and obesity specialty care. • In addition to their shared clinical experiences in obesity medicine and telehealth, these authors are also members of the Obesity Medicine Association Advocacy Committee, who upon multiple meetings, created and edited this manuscript and its revisions. [AFFILIATION WITH OMA IS SUBJECT TO APPROVAL BY THE OMA BOT] How might your results change the direction of research or the focus of clinical practice? • It is likely that beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth will remain an integral part of obesity management. Clinicians may benefit from a practical telehealth overview originating from the perspective of clinicians experienced in obesity medicine. • Some anti-obesity medications are scheduled medications. Currently, during the COVID-19 pandemic, federal laws allow for some prescribing of controlled substances via telehealth. Adaptation to telehealth requires an understanding of how to safely prescribe anti-obesity medications now, as well as how to safety prescribe anti-obesity medications when/if prescribing laws change in the future.

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