This two year old medical weight loss chain was founded by Dr.
Michael Kaplan, an internist on Long Island, NY who later got board
certified in bariatric medicine and made that the main focus of his
practice. Dr. Kaplan's business flourished since his patients mostly
paid for services out of pocket. He opened several
centers on Long Island.
Sensing the demand, he began marketing and selling
the approach to other primary care doctors, as licensees. The
venture has since expanded to include 200+ centers in 36 states (vs.
60 centers in 10 states in early 2007). The
greatest number of centers are located in California, Florida, New
York and New Jersey. The organization is adding about 15 new centers
per month. Dr. Kaplan feels that their competition is the large
commercial chains such as Jenny Craig, rather than other medical
chains.
Doctors at each of the participating medical weight
loss clinics are claimed to be experts in the subjects of obesity, nutrition,
fitness, weight loss prescription medications, exercise, behavioral
modification, weight loss counseling, and weight related illness.
Physicians get an exclusive territory in which to operate under
the center's brand. For an additional fee, Dr.
Kaplan's center will advertise (print, radio, and online) in that designated
area. Any calls to the center's national toll-free number, 1-800-MD-BE-THIN, are
automatically routed to participating doctors in the callers' geographic
location based on ZIP codes.
The doctors then basically create their own Center for Medical
Weight Loss within their practice, where they see their primary care patients
and then carve out hours to see new weight loss patients.
The Program
The centers aim to treat people looking for both
cosmetic and medical weight loss, with 50% of female
patients having to lose 20 Lbs. or less and 50% with
40-100 lbs. to lose.
Patients are typically put on low calorie diets
(800-1200/day) of
company shakes and nutrition bars and, in some cases,
prescription appetite suppressants. As they approach
their goal weight, they are eased back onto food.
Dr. Kaplan says patients initially have weekly
appointments and then often taper off, depending on
their progress. There's a big emphasis on counseling
patients on behavior modification and lifestyle
changes. All the counseling is done by the doctor
himself, in 15-20 min. sessions.
Average cost is hard to determine, but the meal
replacements cost $105 per week. If the Phentermine
prescription appetite suppressant is used, it costs
about $30/month. Many patients stay of the plan for
a year or more. Many are repeat patients.
Three programs are offered...
Low-calorie program
One of the nutritional programs offered at The Center for Medical Weight Loss
is the medically prescribed low calorie diet program. These low-calorie diet
programs, prescribed only by physicians, utilize several nutrition-rich liquid
diets, high quality meal replacement formulas, protein bars and soups in
combination with comprehensive lifestyle education, including exercise and
counseling to help you lose weight, improve your health, and develop - and
maintain - the new skills and habits necessary to successfully manage your
weight in the future.
These programs utilize dietary products only available to physicians to
ensure a medically sound program, with complete nutrition necessary to maintain
optimum health.
Prescription drug program
Prescription drug medical weight loss programs
involve the use of FDA approved prescription diet pills (usually
Phentermine) to curb the
appetite and jump-start the weight loss process. It also involves an
individualized counseling and exercise component as a part of a
complete safe and healthy weight loss diet program.
Bariatric surgery program
Before recommending bariatric surgery as an option, your doctor will
undertake a thorough evaluation and examination to assess appropriateness of the
procedure.
In general, bariatric surgery is recommended for people who are at least 100
pounds overweight and have a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 40, or for those with a
BMI between 35 and 39 who show evidence of weight driven disease. It is also
critical that potential candidates are mentally capable of understanding the
risks inherent in this surgery.
Bariatric surgery, sometimes referred to as gastric bypass surgery, involves
surgical alterations to the stomach or small intestine so that significantly
less food can be consumed and fewer calories absorbed.
Once surgery is deemed an appropriate choice, your doctor will create an
individualized and comprehensive program involving pre-surgical care and
counseling, post-surgical care and counseling, and a regimen for on-going
success.
Costs
Patient costs will vary by doctor. Dr. Kaplan's
Practices charge $19 for an initial consult and fees for weight loss
plans range from $75 to $640 a month, depending on the patient's
needs. Dr. Kaplan suggests prices but the doctors are free to set
their own rates. For $640/month at the centers, a patient gets a
weekly weigh-in, counseling and food.
Commentary
This appears to be a well supervised medical
program. However, some critics questions whether brief seminars like
Dr. Kaplan's are sufficient training for doctors. They're not sure
two days is enough time to learn the information. Also, we question
whether these doctors are really knowledgeable about nutrition,
fitness, exercise, behavioral modification, and weight loss
counseling. These disciplines can't be learned in two days.
Apparently, consumers like the approach, as evidenced by the
organization's rapid growth since 2007. Since this a fee for service
plan and you'll be paying out of pocket, it may be more suited to
those with larger weight loss budgets.