Bariatric Times

D1 Funded by: I a m ex ci ted to f i na l l y i ntro d u ce E u co ™ , a s i mpl e yet po werf u l s o f twa re pl a tf o rm tha t ha s cha nged the wa y I now practice medicine. I have been using Euco with my medical weight loss patients for the past 13 months at my New York clinic. The clinic was used as a beta testing site prior to Euco's full commercial release this past July. Through this pilot, we have turned Euco into a time- saving program that allows you to evaluate patient behaviors and correlate them to measurements and lab values, essentially tracking the reversal of their comorbidities through medical management. The idea is simple. We know, based on decades of obesity management research, that the two most effective strategies influencing patient behavior in the long term are accountability and self-monitoring. 1 ,2 One of the key challenges in the management of obesity is the inability to determine patient behaviors between office visits. Those of you who treat overweight and obese patients know wha t I a m ta l ki ng a b o u t. Yo u r pa ti ent l ea v es yo u r o f f i ce wi th a grea t mi nd s et, b u t retu rns two weeks l a ter ha v i ng ga i ned ei ght po u nd s . B ef o re yo u enter the ro o m, yo u thi nk to yo u rs el f , " W ha t o n ea rth ha ppened ?" Pa ti ent ex peri ences i n the weeks a nd mo nths b etween v i s i ts a re f a r b eyo nd o u r co ntro l , a nd o f ten res u l t i n a ttri ti o n a nd reci d i v i s m, ev en a f ter tremend o u s s ho rt- term s u cces s wi th rev ers i ng co mo rb i d i ti es . Pa ti ents b eco me emb a rra s s ed . They d o no t wa nt to l et yo u d o wn a nd , ev entu a l l y, they s to p s ho wi ng u p a t a l l . In my pra cti ce, we imagined and implemented a different scenario where you can visualize your patient's weight creeping up as you coach them through a mobile app. You can provide encouragement through a brief reminder message. For instance, you may say, "Hey Sarah, how are you? I feel like you are having a tough week. What can I do to help?" Sarah may reply, "My boss is being a jerk. It is stressing me out." You might then message her back and say, "Don't let him get the best of you! It's not worth it. Let me work with you to stick to your plan. Let's focus on going to the gym immediately after work. Sound like a deal?" Although many of us were indoctrinated into the world of technology through cumbersome electronic medical records (EMRs), I am here to tell you that when it comes to patient engagement, technology can be your best friend. Secure, connected mobile health care technology that is designed to add value to both patients and clinicians, in synergy and in real time, has the potential to revolutionize the care process by which we manage obesity. Obesity is at the heart of most chronic diseases and behaviors are at the heart of obesity. Technology connects the two worlds and can seamlessly predict aberrant behaviors before they foil a successful weight loss plan. The Euco platform is comprised of two interlinked components. The first is a web- based patient management dashboard for clinicians intended to efficiently set up plans and track patient progress in the following five categories: nutrition, activity, Wendy Scinta, MD, MS, FAAFP Medical Director, Medical Weight Loss of NY, BOUNCE Program for Childhood Obesity, Fayetteville, New York; Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York IntroducIng Euco ™ : A new technology to Help clinicians Better Impact Patient Behaviors and Preserve Long-term outcomes The Euco platform is comprised of two interlinked components: a journaling app for patients, which securely connects to a web-based patient management system for clinicians. V O L U M E 1 1 , N U M B E R 1 2 D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4 • S U P P L E M E N T D S POTLIGHT ON TECHNOLOGY

• BT_D1.pdf
• BT_D2.pdf