Integrated Health Clinical Issues Committee

Members

Clinical Issues Committee MD Liaison

Jonathan Carter, MD FASMBS, Chair

ASMBS Staff Liaison

Leslie Vinson

Mission

The mission of the Integrated Health Clinical Issues Committee is to create evidence-based position statements with focus on clinical issues related to the integrated multidisciplinary team as well as issues related to the individual integrated health disciplines with the goal of enhancing the safety, quality and outcomes of bariatric and metabolic surgical patient care.

Description

The ASMBS Clinical Issues Committee represents multiple disciplines of bariatric integrated health professionals with at least one member representing the following disciplines – nursing, behavioral health, nurse practitioner or physician assistant, registered dietitian, and pharmacist. The Committee members are appointed by the IHEC President with input from the Committee Chair and Co-Chair.

Objectives

Prioritize and develop projects and publications and provide evidence-based clinical and practice recommendations using a multidisciplinary approach
a. Identify, develop, and revise best practice recommendations, clinical guidelines, position statements and protocols for the different disciplines within Integrated Health – review and reassess every two years

b. Collaborate with surgeons’ CIC to provide an Integrated Health perspective in their projects, as needed

c. Identify and provide support to the committee/member(s) developing best practices, clinical guidelines, position statements and recommendations

d. Develop protocols for initiating and implementing projects and establish direct communication with IHEC

e. Publicize publications both internally and externally via Communications Committee, as appropriate

Committee Goals

Short-Term

1. Nutrition for Pregnancy after Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery: Literature Review and Practical Guide
2. Online Psych Guidelines (TelePsych Survey) – papers on General Controversies, Qualitative and Quantitative Data
3. Gastric Band Guidelines Update
4. Ramadan/Review on Fasting for Religious Purposes after Surgery

Mid-Term

1. Behavioral Health Adolescent/Pediatric Psych Guidelines
2. Cannabis Paper
3. Contraceptive Counseling
4. Collaborate with the surgeon Clinical Issues Committee on the following papers: Limb lengths of Gastric Bypass – Primary & Revisional Surgery, NIH Consensus Statement Update (Collaboration with IFSO), and Role of Pharmacotherapy as Neoadjuvant/Adjuvant Therapy in Bariatric Surgery

Long-Term

1. Review potential and existing statements, papers, and resources
2. Develop orientation program for members with possible training models on types of papers and provide training or mentoring within the committee for new members

Specific Projects that Achieve Goals and Objectives:

Short-Term

1. Nutrition for Pregnancy after Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery: Literature Review and Practical Guide submitted to SOARD
2. Online Psych Guidelines (TelePsych Survey) – the qualitative examination of the free-text responses is complete and the paper is in near-final draft
3. Gastric Band Guidelines Update – writing group formed, in progress
4. Ramadan/Review on Fasting for Religious Purposes after Surgery submitted to SOARD

Mid-Term

1. Behavioral Health Adolescent/Pediatric Psych Guidelines – scoping review – have determined their focus and their questions, beginning the literature search/review phase
2. Cannabis Paper – writing group formed, in progress
3. Contraceptive Counseling Paper – writing group formed
4. IH Clinical Issues writers assigned to the Limb lengths of Gastric Bypass – Primary & Revisional Surgery, NIH Consensus Statement Update, and Role of Pharmacotherapy as Neoadjuvant/Adjuvant Therapy in Bariatric Surgery writing groups – in progress

Long-Term

1. Call for statements from membership sent out January 2022
2. Researching examples of tools commonly used to review manuscripts based on the type of study design

2021-2022 Completed Projects

1. Collaborated with the CIC on the ASMBS Position Statement on Preoperative Patient Optimization before Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, published in SOARD October 2021
2. Nutrition for Pregnancy after Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery: Literature Review and Practical Guide, published in SOARD April 2022
3. American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Review on Fasting for Religious Purposes after Surgery, will be published in SOARD in 2022