4.2 Article

Coding and Obesity: Room to Grow

Journal

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN BOARD OF FAMILY MEDICINE
Volume 24, Issue 3, Pages 329-330

Publisher

AMER BOARD FAMILY MEDICINE
DOI: 10.3122/jabfm.2011.03.100200

Keywords

Coding; Delivery of Health Care; Obesity

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Introduction: Obesity is the leading health problem in the United States. Providers often fail to document obesity in patients whose body mass index (BMI) is more than 30. Methods: Using a structured data query of the military health system electronic medical record, we determined the BMI and presence of an associated International Classification of Disease code in a cohort of more than 3 million patients. Results: Fifteen percent of patients (482,628) had a BMI exceeding 30. Of those patients with a BMI more than 30, 78,776 (16%) had an associated International Classification of Disease 9 code documenting obesity in their record. Conclusion: Coding and documentation of obesity is inadequate. This has implications for delivery of preventive counseling and efforts to mitigate rising trends in obesity. (J Am Board Fam Med 2011; 24: 329-330.)

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