Have you ever wondered which of your patients with obesity may be an appropriate candidate for bariatric surgery? Look no further! This presentation reviews bariatric surgery candidate criteria, how to identify quality bariatric surgery programs to recommend to patients, how to refer, and the typical evaluation process a patient will experience prior to a bariatric surgery. The presenter also touches on insurance-related coverage issues and the ever-growing industry of bariatric surgery-related medical tourism. This is appropriate for any PA who treats patients with the disease of obesity and has an interest in using bariatric surgery as a potential treatment tool.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Identify the characteristics that will qualify a patient with obesity for bariatric surgery
• Recognize the features of a quality, comprehensive bariatric surgery program and how to refer patients to them
• Describe the typical components of a thorough and appropriate pre-bariatric surgery patient evaluation process
• Identify the most common bariatric surgery-related insurance coverage issues and the complexities of bariatric surgery-related medical tourism