A Quality Improvement Initiative Addressing Provider Prescription of Weight Management Follow-up in Primary Care

INTRODUCTION: Few providers routinely comply with the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations to prescribe weight management follow-up in-between well-child checks for children with obesity/overweight. This quality improvement (QI) project aimed to increase the percentage of patients prescribed weight management follow-up within three months of their well-child check. METHODS: The project took place in 1 outpatient primary care clinic at a large, free-standing children’s hospital from May 2018 to April 2019. We grouped interventions in 4 Plan-Do-Study-Act ramps with the following themes: (1) provider education; (2) electronic health record note changes; (3) discharge order modifications; and (4) provider feedback. The primary outcome was the percent of patients ages 2–18 years with body mass index ≥ 85% that had an order placed to schedule a follow-up weight management appointment in primary care. We monitored attendance rates for scheduled follow-up visits as a balancing measure. RESULTS: Mean prescription rates increased from 32% at baseline to 58%, with special cause analysis demonstrating improvement. Of patients prescribed follow-up, 40% returned for a weight management visit, compared to 13% before the QI initiative. The no-show rate was 35%. CONCLUSIONS: The utilization of QI methodology led to an increase in the percentage of patients appropriately prescribed weight management follow-up and a resultant increase in the number of patients seen for follow-up. The next steps include a re-examination of process failures to improve patient buy-in in follow-up prescriptions.