UT Southwestern Medical Center's Weight Wellness Program offers advanced, evidence-based treatments for individuals struggling with overweight or obesity. This article delves into the various aspects of the program, including scheduling, what to expect during appointments, treatment options, and valuable resources like Weight Wellness Day.
Scheduling Your Appointment
To begin your weight management journey, it's essential to schedule an appointment with the UT Southwestern Weight Wellness Program. UT Southwestern encourages you to enroll in MyChart, their secure online health management tool, before your appointment. MyChart lets you make appointments, request prescription refills, and privately communicate with your UT Southwestern health care teams. Learn more about MyChart or call 214-648-8888 to enroll.
Appointment Confirmation
To ensure a smooth process, the clinic will attempt to contact you one week before your visit to confirm your upcoming appointment, using the telephone number in their system and through MyChart. It’s crucial to ensure that the clinic has your current contact information in the UT Southwestern electronic medical record. If they are unable to reach you and you don’t confirm your appointment by MyChart or by calling our clinic at 214-645-2800 at least four days prior to the visit, your appointment will be canceled and offered to a patient on the waiting list.
Canceling or Rescheduling
Life happens, and sometimes you need to change your plans. If it’s necessary to cancel your appointment, please notify the clinic at least 72 hours in advance. Another patient will be grateful for your appointment. Please be aware that if you arrive after your visit start time or cancel/reschedule after your visit arrival time, your appointment may be rescheduled and labeled as a “no show” encounter.
Preparing for Your First Visit
Proper preparation can make your first visit more productive and help your providers create an individualized plan of care.
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Required Health Questionnaires
Please complete the required health questionnaires before your first visit. These questionnaires will help your providers create an individualized plan of care that is based on your medical history, challenges, and value-based goals. Log into MyChart at least four days before your visit to complete these forms, as incomplete questionnaires may delay your appointment. Completing these forms in advance gives your providers time to review the information before your appointment starts.
Essential Documents and Information
Please make sure your demographic, contact, and insurance information are up to date. If we’re unable to contact you to confirm your appointment, the visit will be canceled.
Bring the following items to your visit:
- Completed previsit paperwork (can be completed in your MyChart patient portal)
- Current medical and prescription insurance cards
- Method of payment
- Current medications or a complete list of medicines with doses, including all over-the-counter medications, herbs, and vitamins
- Glucometer, continuous glucose monitor, or blood glucose log (if applicable)
Arrival Time
To allow time for check-in, registration, and the rooming process, please arrive at the clinic at least 15 minutes prior to your appointment start time. This will ensure that you spend the maximum amount of time with your providers. If you arrive late, you may be asked to reschedule, so we can provide excellent care to you and all our other patients. On the day of the appointment, please arrive 30 minutes early to allow time for parking and registration. We will do our best to see you at your scheduled appointment time.
What to Expect During Your First Appointment
Visits in the Weight Wellness Program are comprehensive and integrated with multiple providers. Please allow two hours for new patient appointments and 30 minutes for follow-up visits.
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During your first visit, you can expect:
- A two-hour consultation with the Weight Wellness team. Avoid scheduling other appointments immediately before or after your visit.
- Analysis of your body composition with a bioelectrical impedance scale and measurement of your waist circumference (in-clinic visits only).
- Measurement of vital signs (blood pressure, temperature, etc.), review of health history and medications.
- Completion of a nutrition assessment, followed by nutrition and lifestyle education and counseling provided by a registered dietitian.
- Assessment by a Weight Wellness physician to create an individualized plan of care, which may include testing, imaging, and referral to other specialists.
- Additional education and support from the nursing staff, which may include starting new medications in the clinic.
The team may discuss sensitive health issues during the appointment. Please avoid bringing children or companions (unless their assistance is required) into the consultation room, so you can speak freely with the providers.
Telehealth Options
For established patients, UT Southwestern offers telehealth (virtual) visits through the MyChart Patient Portal, requiring both audio and video communication. If your computer or devices can’t support telehealth visits, you’ll need to schedule an in-person appointment.
When scheduling a telehealth visit, please ensure that you have the appropriate time and surroundings to discuss your confidential health issues. Personal health information cannot be discussed in public spaces, such as open office environments. You’ll be asked to reschedule if your provider determines that your current environment is unsuitable to complete the visit.
Insurance and Coverage
All visits will be submitted to the insurance plan on file with our clinic. Medical visits should be covered as tiered by your benefits plan for specialist office visits. Dietitian visits are typically covered under your preventive coverage benefits. Psychologist visits are submitted to your mental health plan and are subject to those terms.
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Please review general information about UT Southwestern and billing. You may also consider contacting your insurance plan administrator or the customer service number on your card for clarification on your benefits. If insurance coverage becomes a limitation to your care, please notify us as soon as possible, so we may best coordinate your health care needs.
Clinical Trainees
UT Southwestern is a world-renowned training center for physicians and allied health professionals. Your visit may be conducted in part with a clinical trainee (for example, medical residents or fellow physicians; nurse practitioners or physician assistant students; psychologists in-training, dietetic or nursing interns). We thank you for the opportunity to deliver valuable clinical training in our clinic.
Follow-Up Care
Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight requires commitment. We’re dedicated to partnering with you on this journey. After meeting with the physician and dietitian during your initial consult, you’ll schedule regular follow-up visits with one of our advanced practice providers and a Weight Wellness dietitian. You may also schedule a meeting with our program’s psychologist, based on your needs.
To ensure that we get to know you and understand your needs, patients will follow the same physician and advanced practice provider team. Switching providers is only considered in special circumstances. Please discuss any concerns that you have about your care with your Weight Wellness physician, so we can make sure you’re getting the care that you need. If you’re scheduled with a provider whom you do not usually see, please contact us immediately.
Follow-up visits can be scheduled through your MyChart or by our Central Patient Access Services at 214-645-2800.
Prescriptions
Weight Wellness providers may prescribe medications to help you achieve a healthy weight and to manage metabolic conditions associated with your body weight.
Refills
If you need medication refills, please contact your pharmacy or submit a refill request through MyChart. If you haven’t had a recent appointment with a Weight Wellness provider and you’re not scheduled for a visit soon, we may not be able to refill your prescription until you’ve been seen.
Please be mindful of your medication supply and allow at least two business days to complete your medication refill request. The clinic is unable to authorize medication refills after hours or on weekends. Consider requesting refills in advance, so you don’t run out of medications.
Coverage and Prior Authorizations
Many medications require a stepwise approval process through your prescription benefits manager (pharmacy insurance), called prior authorization. Our team will complete all prior authorizations as soon as possible, upon notification by the pharmacy. Please check your after-visit summary for information related to medications and insurance (located in the patient instructions) and send a MyChart message if you have questions or concerns related to your prescriptions.
Prior authorizations may be delayed if your current prescription insurance information isn’t in our system. Please provide any new insurance information to the registration staff in the clinic, so they can update your information.
Unfortunately, many prescription plans exclude medications intended to treat obesity. Plan exclusions indicate that your benefits plan didn’t “opt-in” to cover these medications. We aren’t able to appeal this decision. The best course of action is to discuss the issue with the policy benefits administrator and reconsider the available options for your health conditions.
Copay Discounts and Patient Assistance
Patients with commercial insurance plans may be eligible for a reduced copay through discounts provided by the medication manufacturer. We’ll notify you about those of which we’re aware. Please read all disclaimer information available and check with your pharmacy team if you have questions. All prescription insurance claims are handled through your pharmacy. If your prescription medication costs are unmanageable, please contact us to discuss alternatives.
Patient assistance programs may be available for certain prescription drugs based on financial circumstances and can provide medications at no cost.
Weight Wellness Day (WWD)
Weight Wellness Day (WWD) is a free community event scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025 at UT Southwestern Medical Center. It is open to UT Southwestern employees, patients, family members, and friends. There is no cost to attend, and lunch will be provided. UT Southwestern physicians, researchers, advanced practice providers, and nurses will lead talks during WWD 2025. Attendees also can speak informally with experts at information stations.
WWD 2025 will feature talks on various topics, including:
- Obesity as a Disease: Melissa Shoemaker, M.D., will discuss the modern understanding of obesity as a complex medical condition influenced by genetics, biology, and environmental factors.
- Anti-Obesity Medications: An overview of available medications for treating obesity, detailing their expected effects on body weight and related health outcomes.
- Managing Barriers to Accessing Semaglutide Medications: Tonia Vinton, M.D., will address challenges in obtaining semaglutide and similar medications, including their high costs and insurance coverage issues. Topics will include safety of compounding pharmacies, utilizing coupons, identifying supportive insurance plans, using vials instead of prefilled pens, and extending the time between doses.
- The Impact of Body Weight on Bones and Joints: This session will explore the relationship between body weight and the health of bones and joints, highlighting how excess weight can increase stress on joints and contribute to conditions like osteoarthritis.
- Weight Loss Surgery: Melanie Hafford, M.D., will introduce the major types of weight loss surgical procedures and provide an overview of their effectiveness in achieving significant and sustained weight loss and other health improvements.
- Solutions for Kids with Obesity: Bethany Cartwright, M.D., Ph.D., will explore the unique challenges and considerations of managing obesity in children, including its causes, health impacts, and treatment options.
- Healthy Eating and Physical Activity: This session will focus on the foundational role of healthy eating and physical activity in managing obesity and improving overall well-being.
- Food Is Medicine: Jaclyn Albin, M.D., and Milette Siler, M.B.A.-H.C., R.D., L.D., C.C.M.S., will highlight the powerful role that food can play in preventing and managing obesity and related health conditions.
Individualized Treatment Approaches
UT Southwestern’s Weight Wellness Program offers comprehensive, evidence-based treatments for patients living with obesity. Every person is unique, so each treatment plan is personalized. UT Southwestern's Nutrition & Obesity Research Center (NORC) is one of 12 nationwide designated by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Interdisciplinary Team-Based Approach
Our interdisciplinary, team-based approach to weight management is dedicated to our patients’ wellness journey.
Treatment Options
We provide experience and expertise across weight management treatments, from medical and nutrition therapies to surgical and endoscopic procedures. Our services for adult weight management include:
Medical Weight Management
This includes medications that facilitate weight reduction, along with nutrition and lifestyle coaching and supportive counseling to help patients create sustainable changes for optimizing health, quality of life, and weight. Additionally, we help patients manage nutrition and digestive health after bariatric surgery.
Surgery for Weight Management
Surgery is an effective treatment for obesity and the associated health risks that enables patients to live longer and with a better quality of life. UT Southwestern’s Bariatric Surgery and Weight Wellness clinic at Texas Health Dallas offers comprehensive treatments for weight management to patients who are overweight or obese - from education to bariatric surgery.
Research and Innovation
UT Southwestern's Nutrition and Obesity Research Center (NORC) funds Pilot and Feasibility (P&F) grants to investigators who are conducting research related to obesity, metabolism, and nutrition. Provides an array of blood metabolites and hormones, 50-plus metabolic cages, telemetry measurements of blood pressure, heart rate, core body temperature, and activity, multiple imaging modalities to characterize fat distribution, and hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps and primary cell isolation.
MyChart: Your Health Management Tool
To facilitate ongoing communication, we recommend patients sign up with MyChart, which allows patients to communicate directly with doctors, request prescription refills, update contact information, view test results, complete visit questionnaires and request clinic appointments.