UK HealthCare to Offer New Weight Management Clinic in Two Locations
LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 19, 2014) - Losing excess weight can be challenging whether it’s five pounds or 50, but health providers at UK HealthCare's new UK Barnstable Brown Diabetes and Obesity Center (BBDOC) Physician Weight Management Program are committed to helping patients achieve their goals by offering an individual lifestyle plan to meet the needs of each patient.
Patients will have a choice of two clinics with different providers: the Internal Medicine Clinic with Dr. Stephanie Rose, or the Endocrine Clinic with Dr. Barbara Fleming-Phillips. A doctor's referral is not necessary for an appointment.
Dr. Rose, a general internist, is a recent Diplomate in Obesity Medicine through the American Board of Obesity Medicine and a contributing investigator at the Barnstable Brown Diabetes and Obesity Center. Dr. Fleming-Phillips is a Family and Community Medicine Specialist at the Barnstable Brown Diabetes and Obesity Center and has worked with patients at Health Management Resources (HMR).
Both physicians will offer weight loss programs based on individual lifestyle assessment, a food journal, exercise contract, and mindful eating, using a combination of lifestyle and behavioral modification and, if medically indicated, weight loss medications and referral to bariatric surgery centers.
Patients will start with an hour-long appointment that will include a comprehensive evaluation of weight and diet history as well as evaluation of existing conditions that can cause or are caused by obesity, and may include physical exam and lab work. After evaluation, patients will be given personalized weight management options and goals. Patients may be referred to outside weight loss programs as needed to assist in meeting their needs and ensure success, such as HMR, UK Health and Wellness, or Weight Watchers. The frequency of follow-up appointments will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Patients at each clinic will receive individualized counseling sessions with a dietitian that includes a comprehensive review of diet history and a personalized diet approach to fit each person’s lifestyle. Dietitians will teach a 12-week curriculum based on the Diabetes Prevention Program. Patients will work through the 12-week curriculum at their own pace, and at each visit a different topic related to lifestyle change and weight loss will be discussed.
Cost of visits to the Weight Management Clinic will be determined by each individual's insurance coverage. Although most insurance companies do not reimburse for weight loss, the doctor will bill based on other health issues such as diabetes or hypertension.
To schedule an appointment in the Internal Medicine Clinic, call 859-323-0303, or the Barnstable Brown Diabetes and Obesity Center, 859-323-2232. To refer a patient to the clinic through the Ambulatory Electronic Health Record (AEHR), click “Consult: Other” and type in “UK BBDOC Weight Management Clinic.”