Rapid conversion to virtual obesity care in COVID-19: Impact on patient care, interdisciplinary collaboration, and training.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic presents challenges to maintaining interdisciplinary collaboration while transitioning care to telehealth environments. This paper describes how an intensive weight management clinic rapidly transitioned from in-person only to a telehealth environment. Method: As a program evaluation project, changes to clinic procedures were tracked on a weekly basis. Patients were invited to complete phone surveys after clinic appointments from 1 May 2020 to 31 July 2020. The survey included 12 items rated on a 5-point scale ("strongly disagree" to "strongly agree"). Results: Adaptations included converting team meetings and clinical training to phone/video platforms and transferring a complex patient tracking system to an interactive virtual format. Fifty-eight patients completed phone surveys (81% response rate). All "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that they were satisfied with telehealth care; 51% "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that telephone visits were as good as in-person visits; and 53% preferred phone appointments even after pandemic restrictions are eased. Conclusions: It is feasible to rapidly transition to a telehealth clinic when supported by infrastructure and resources of a national, integrated healthcare system. Patient preferences include access to both telehealth and in-person services. A blended telehealth/in-person model that maintains interdisciplinary collaboration and training is necessary even after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mindfulness as a Weight Loss Treatment for Veterans.

Despite substantial evidence for their effectiveness in treating disordered eating and obesity, mindfulness-based treatments have not been broadly implemented among Veterans. A number of reviews have reported mindfulness to be beneficial in promoting healthy eating behaviors and weight loss among non-Veteran samples. We discuss this approach in the context of the Veterans Affairs system, the largest integrated healthcare provider in the U.S. and in the context of Veterans, among whom obesity is at epidemic proportions. In this article, we discuss what is known about treating obesity using a mindfulness approach, mindfulness interventions for Veterans, a new pilot mindfulness-based weight loss program designed for Veterans, and future directions for this type of obesity treatment in Veterans. We conclude that this population may be uniquely poised to benefit from mindfulness-based treatments.