title: Diagnosis and Screening of Overweight and Obese Children in a Resident Continuity Clinic.
abstract: Objective. To evaluate the association between documenting excess weight and ordering screening tests. Methods. We retrospectively reviewed well-child visits for patients 2 to 18 years old at a pediatric resident clinic. We evaluated visits of patients with body mass index ≥ 85th percentile for documentation of excess weight in the electronic medical record (EMR) and screening tests ordered. Associations were investigated with χ(2) tests. Results. Of 522 patients, 215 (41%) were overweight (19%) or obese (22%). Among obese and overweight patients, 92/215 (43%) had documentation of excess weight in the EMR. Screening tests were ordered for 39/92 (42%) patients with a diagnosis of excess weight versus 8/123 (6.5%) of those without one (P < .001). Conclusions. Documentation rates of excess weight by practitioners were low and worse for younger children and those with milder degrees of excess weight. Documenting excess weight in the EMR was highly associated with ordering of screening tests.
authors.affiliation: Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Alanna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Higgins
authors.affiliation: Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McCarville
authors.affiliation: Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kurowski
authors.affiliation: Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McEwen
authors.affiliation: Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Robert R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Tanz
keywords: electronic medical record; obesity; overweight; residents; screening recommendations