Binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa and atypical anorexia nervosa can occur among patients living with obesity. These eating disorders may go untreated for many years as patients seek help for weight loss as opposed to disordered eating (1,2).
The Canberra Health Services (CHS) Department of Bariatric Medicine (DBM) is a multi-disciplinary program for patients with class III obesity (BMI>40kg/m2). In 2023, a clinical audit revealed that only 61% of DBM patients with an eating disorder were offered appropriate eating disorder referral options.
This Quality Improvement (QI) project aimed to increase the rate of DBM patients who were offered eating disorder referral options from 61% in 2023 to >80% in 2024. An algorithm outlining eating disorder referral options was developed for DBM staff. Rates of patients with untreated eating disorders and the types of referrals offered were compared from 2023 to 2024.
The QI project revealed that offers for eating disorder referrals increased from 61% in 2023 to 100% in 2024. This was above the QI project aim of >80%. Referral options included the in-house DBM psychiatry clinic, CHS public eating disorder service, private psychologists +/- Medicare Eating Disorder Plans.
The process of offering eating disorder support options has been embedded into the DBM model of care. The DBM will continue using the algorithm to facilitate this important referral process which will help to optimise appropriate patient care.