Health policy implications of bariatric surgeries for the management of obese patients with type 2 diabetes

Abstract

Despite the fact that the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity present a public health priority and bariatric surgeries generate remarkable health gain and savings in health care costs in these patients, metabolic surgeries are accessible only in the private health care sector for a selected wealthy population. Several barriers hinder the widespread adoption of bariatric surgeries for diabetic patients living with obesity, including a lack of support from health policy-makers, limited clarity regarding the role of bariatric surgeries in the public health care system and consequently a lack of public funding for these surgeries, limited capacities of providers in the publicly financed health care system, and the limited elaboration of professional competencies. The authors aim to provide a consensus proposal to overcome these barriers.