Creating a credential for bariatric behavioral health professionals: potential benefits, pitfalls, and provider opinion

Background: Since the 1991 recommendation by the National Institutes of Health-sponsored consensus development conference, preoperative psychosocial evaluation of weight loss surgery patients has been adopted by >80% of weight loss surgery programs. Although some published suggestions for conducting evaluations exist, no formal guidelines have been published specifying the qualifications, content knowledge, or clinical experience for the behavioral health professionals who conduct them. As a result, the backgrounds of behavioral health professionals working with bariatric surgery patients are varied, and no mechanism exists to ensure consistent quality of care. To obtain expert opinion on this issue, a survey of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery membership was conducted using an Internet-based survey.

Methods: American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery members of all disciplines were invited by electronic mail to complete an Internet-based survey. Separate forms were created for behavioral health providers and for members of other disciplines.

Results: A total of 409 American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery members responded (60 behavioral health and 349 nonbehavioral health). Of the 409 respondents, 95% indicated a belief that it is important for behavioral health providers to have specialty knowledge; 87% indicated a belief that specialty experience is important; and 70.6% favored the development of a specialty credential for bariatric behavioral health providers to regulate the quality of patient care. However, the respondents also reported concerns about creating such a credential.

Conclusion: Our results reflect widespread opinion that the provision of bariatric behavioral health services requires specialty knowledge and experience and that a credentialing system would help regulate the standard of care in the field. However, some concerns about credential development remain.