Trial reportJournal of general internal medicine2012
Electronic tools to assist with identification and counseling for overweight patients: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in Journal of general internal medicine, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- Digital Mental Health Interventions in Obesity Management: A Systematic Review and Evidence-Based Recommendations.Current obesity reports · 2026Pooled it
- Digital tracking, provider decision support systems, and targeted client communication via mobile devices to improve primary health care.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Electronic Health Record Nudges and Health Care Quality and Outcomes in Primary Care: A Systematic Review.JAMA network open · 2024Pooled it
- Computerised clinical decision support systems and absolute improvements in care: meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2020Pooled it
- Interventions to change the behaviour of health professionals and the organisation of care to promote weight reduction in children and adults with overweight or obesity.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- The effects of on-screen, point of care computer reminders on processes and outcomes of care.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2009Pooled it
- Effect of an obesity best practice alert on physician documentation and referral practices.Translational behavioral medicine · 2017Trial
- Development, Evaluation and Implementation of Chief Complaint Groupings to Activate Data Collection: A Multi-Center Study of Clinical Decision Support for Children with Head Trauma.Applied clinical informatics · 2015Trial
- Insights from the POWER practice-based weight loss trial: a focus group study on the PCP's role in weight management.Journal of general internal medicine · 2014Trial
- Baseline Characteristics of PATHWEIGH: A Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Study for Weight Management in Primary Care.Annals of family medicineTrial
- Screening, Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Staging of Obesity in Adults: Standards of Care in Overweight and Obesity-2026.BMJ open diabetes research & care · 2026Review
- Electronic health records tools for treating obesity among adult patients in primary care: A scoping review.Obesity pillars · 2025Article
- Childhood obesity diagnosis and management remains a challenge despite the use of electronic health records: A retrospective study.Health science reports · 2022Article
- Weight assessment and the provision of weight management advice in primary care: a cross-sectional survey of self-reported practice among general practitioners and practice nurses in the United Kingdom.BMC family practice · 2020Article
- Electronic Information Standards to Support Obesity Prevention and Bridge Services Across Systems, 2010-2015.Preventing chronic disease · 2017Article
- Electronic Health Record Data Versus the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES): A Comparison of Overweight and Obesity Rates.Medical care · 2017Article
- Impact of an Electronic Template on Documentation of Obesity in a Primary Care Clinic.Clinical pediatrics · 2016Article
- Association of intimate partner violence and health-care provider-identified obesity.Women & health · 2016Article
- Patient Attitudes toward Weight Related Discussions in Rural Appalachian Primary Care Clinics.The West Virginia medical journal · 2016Article
- The content of diet and physical activity consultations with older adults in primary care.Patient education and counseling · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPhysicians often do not recognize when their patients are overweight and infrequently counsel them about weight loss.
objectiveTo evaluate a set of electronic health record (EHR)-embedded tools to assist with identification and counseling of overweight patients.
designRandomized controlled trial.
participantsPhysicians at an academic general internal medicine clinic were randomized to activation of the EHR tools (n = 15) or to usual care (n = 15). Patients of these physicians were included in analyses if they had a body mass index (BMI) between 27 and 29.9 kg/m(2).
interventionThe EHR tool set included: a physician point-of-care alert for overweight (BMI 27-29. 9 kg/m(2)); a counseling template to help physicians counsel patients on action plans; and an order set to facilitate entry of overweight as a diagnosis and to order relevant patient handouts. MAIN MEASURES: Physician documentation of overweight as a problem; documentation of weight-specific counseling; physician perceptions of the EHR tools; patient self-reported progress toward their goals and perspectives about counseling received. KEY
resultsPatients of physicians receiving the intervention were more likely than those of usual care physicians to receive a diagnosis of overweight (22% vs. 7%; p = 0.02) and weight-specific counseling (27% vs. 15%; p = 0.02). Most patients receiving counseling in the intervention group reported increased motivation to lose weight (90%) and taking steps toward their goal (93%). Most intervention physicians agreed that the tool alerted them to patients they did not realize were overweight (91%) and improved the effectiveness of their counseling (82%); more than half (55%) reported counseling overweight patients more frequently (55%). However, most physicians used the tool infrequently because of time barriers.
conclusionsEHR-based alerts and management tools increased documentation of overweight and counseling frequency; the majority of patients for whom the tools were used reported short-term behavior change.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.