OBE‐DIGITHUM: A Clinician‐Led Digital Pathway for Sustainable Obesity Care—A Perspective
Obesity is a chronic disease whose complexity exceeds the capabilities of traditional, BMI-centric care models. Here, we present OBE-DIGITHUM as an exemplar of a clinician-led, digitally enabled pathway that reorganizes obesity care around comprehensive phenotyping, patient engagement, and value-based principles. Based on our multi-year implementation and accumulated experience, we propose OBE-DIGITHUM as a novel clinical pathway that distills practical guidance for clinicians and health-system leaders. We outline how to structure referrals, previsit digital intake, automated staging, and a bimodal (in-person + virtual) education program that reallocates clinician time toward shared decision-making while reducing administrative burden. We also share illustrative service metrics to show how the pathway operates in practice. Our aim is to offer a blueprint-grounded in real-world practice-that others can adapt to improve the effectiveness, reach, and sustainability of obesity care.
Authors
- Isabel Izquierdo
- Amalia Paniagua
- Clotilde Vázquez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1629-2143)
- Roberto Sierra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8657-1781)
- Sebastián Mas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6604-3327)
- Jersy Cárdenas‐Salas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2485-484X)
- Álvaro Gómez‐Meana
- Teresa Montoya
- Bogdana Luiza Luca
- Susana de la Cruz
- Leopoldo García‐Valdecasas
- Luis Reigosa
- Víctor Pérez de Arenaza
- Miguel Aganzo
Institutions
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (ES)
- Hospital Universitario Rey Juan Carlos (ES)
- Hospital Universitario Quirónsalud Madrid (ES)
- Hospital Quirónsalud Barcelona (ES)
- Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz (ES)
- Universidad Alfonso X el Sabio (ES)
- Hospital Universitario Infanta Leonor (ES)
- Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Obesity Reviews
- Published
- 2025-12-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.70042
- Primary Topic
- Obesity and Health Practices
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00