Coding and obesity: room to grow.
cross_sectional · Level IV
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 21551407.
- Also identified by DOI 10.3122/jabfm.2011.03.100200.
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Abstract
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.