Expert Opinion on the Utility of Telemedicine in Obesity Care: Recommendations on a Hybrid Multidisciplinary Integrated Care Follow-Up Algorithm.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The proposed expert opinion was prepared by a panel of obesity and law specialists from Turkey to review the utility of telemedicine in obesity care and to provide a guidance document with recommendations on a hybrid multidisciplinary integrated care follow-up algorithm and the legislation governing telemedicine practice to assist obesity specialists in practicing the telemedicine. RECENT FINDINGS: The efficacy and feasibility of telemedicine interventions in supporting obesity management programs even during pandemics confirm that obesity is a particularly well-suited field for telemedicine, emphasizing the strong likelihood of continued utilization of telemedicine in obesity management, beyond the pandemic period. Telemedicine has great potential to address several barriers to ongoing weight-management care, such as challenges of access to specialized care, cost, and time limitations as well as patient adherence to treatment. However, telemedicine practice should complement rather than replace the in-person visits which are unique in building rapport and offering social support. Accordingly, the participating experts recommend the use of a hybrid integrated care model in the management of obesity, with the use of telemedicine, as an adjunct to in-person visits, to enable the provision of suggested intensive obesity management via frequent visits by a multidisciplinary team of obesity specialists. Further research addressing the utility of telemedicine in terms of optimal modality and duration for successful long-term obesity management outcomes is necessary to develop specific guidelines on telemedicine practice. In addition, the legislation governing the norms and protocols on confidentiality, privacy, access, and liability needs to be improved.

Nurse-focused ethical solutions to problems in organ transplantation.

Technological developments in recent years have brought about a rapid increase in the number and variety of organ transplants, leading to problems in finding enough organs to meet the need. Organ transplantation has also become a particularly significant issue in medical ethics, especially regarding the question of how and from whom organs are procured. Many methods have been tried in order to solve these problems and discussed from an ethical perspective. This study investigates the Spanish, Belgian and Iranian approaches to solving the organ procurement problem. The Spanish model, which is based on persuading patients and their relatives, is ethically less problematic and is also an improved version of the model applied in Turkey. This study argues that an ideal solution can be found without disregarding ethical rules. In particular, nurses can contribute by helping to run the system more efficiently. The principal aim of this article is to demonstrate the contribution of nurses to solving the current organ procurement problem in Turkey and offer some reflections on what can be done to improve the efficiency of the system.