A new telehealth model for adolescent obesity

Pediatrician and certified life and weight coach Karla Lester discusses her article, "An effective treatment using an effective care delivery model: Using telehealth to treat adolescents with obesity with GLP-1 medications." She shares her frustration with traditional in-person obesity programs that see high attrition and offer few effective treatments beyond surgery. Karla explains how she founded her own practice, Metabolic Telehealth, to implement the latest AAP guidelines by combining a new care delivery model with new medical treatments. The conversation explores her initial data, which shows how telehealth can reduce barriers like weight stigma and travel time, leading to better patient retention. It also highlights the effectiveness of GLP-1 medications, with 95 percent of her long-term patients seeing a BMI reduction. However, she also reveals a critical obstacle: over half of all insurance prior authorizations for these vital medications are denied, forcing many families to pay out of pocket. The core message is that while this telehealth model is effective, systemic change is needed to ensure all adolescents have access to this life-changing care.

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