While obesity experts say the ruling is good news, they worry that physicians and other providers do not have the time to help obese patients and are ill-prepared to promote healthy weight loss. Donna Ryan, an obesity researcher at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La., said most physicians have “zero” training in weight loss counseling.
A recent survey of primary care physicians showed that 78 percent had no prior training in weight-related issues. Of those, 72 percent said no one in their office had weight-loss training. The new Medicare rule means physicians can be paid for weight-related counseling and therefore may seek training to qualify themselves for the position.
The services approved by Medicare include face-to-face counseling every week for one month, then one counseling appointment every other week for the following five months for patients who screen positive for obesity. CMS will require counseling to be given by physicians, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists or physician assistants.
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