Hospitalist Recognition and Treatment of Obesity in Inpatients: A Quality Improvement Cohort Study

Obesity is primarily managed in the outpatient setting, however its impact on the frequency and course of hospitalizations is well-established. Considering the rising prevalence of obesity and the broad implications on population health when untreated, hospitalizations may represent an untapped opportunity to address obesity management. We performed a retrospective cohort study comparing the frequency of inpatient obesity documentation to initiation of obesity-targeted therapy, including weight management clinic referral and weight management medication prescription on discharge from hospitalization by hospitalists for patients with class 2 and 3 obesity. We also queried the frequency of weight management clinic referrals and weight management medication prescriptions prior to hospitalization for these cohorts. The cohorts included 1531 patients with class 2 (49.2%) or class 3 (50.8%) obesity. During hospitalization, obesity was frequently documented as a medical problem in patients with both class 2 (48.4%) and class 3 (75%) obesity. Patients with class 3 obesity were more likely to be referred on discharge to a weight management clinic and initiated on weight management medications, however the overall absolute number of referrals and prescriptions were low. We observed that hospitalists documented the presence of obesity in over 60% of patients, yet rarely implemented targeted treatment on discharge. Our results suggest a gap exists between awareness of obesity and subsequent intervention. This highlights an opportunity to generate an inpatient workflow to bridge a gap in care for patients with obesity.