White logo with three abstract human figures above the text "ADIPOSITAS PACT STICHTING | FONDATION PACTE ADIPOSITE FOUNDATION FOR THE RIGHTS OF CITIZENS WITH OBESITY" on a light background.

Pacte Adiposité – Adipositas Pact is a Private Foundation established under Belgian law representing the rights of citizens with obesity.

 

Chapter 4

Access toacute interdisciplinary treatmentand long-term management

All people in Belgium have the right to choose our own healthcare providers. For the treatment of obesity, there are many hurdles to overcome to make this a reality. In the case of obesity, the majority of treatment and long term management happens outside of the specialist obesity centres, with family doctors/ polyclinics and community-based health professionals.

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Table of Contents

  1. A protected legal status for the 4.5 million People Living with pre-Obesity and obesity in Belgium
  2. The right to a quality service from early diagnosis and screening through to treatment and long term management.
  3. A right to access to early diagnosis and screening for obesity in its own right
  4. Access to acute interdisciplinary treatment and long-term management
  5. The right to free choice of your healthcare provider
  6. The right to information about your state of health
  7. Rights concerning primary and secondary use of our health information
  8. The right to participate in shaping, monitoring and evaluating the healthcare system from policies to practices

Within this context

  1. People Living with Obesity in Belgium, should have the right to access the full menu of psychological, physiological and pharmacological treatments applicable to obesity in its own right instead of the current situation of only accessing to prevent the 200+ medical complications of obesity
  2. These treatments should be accessible along the lifecourse and for long duration in line with the chronicity of obesity.
  3. In particular, People with Obesity need to have the confidence that their healthcare providers at primary care level (Family Doctors and polyclinics, community pharmacies, community nurses, physiotherapists, dieticians etc) have the knowledge and expertise to treat them appropriately as well as accompany them on the long-term supported self-management. As such, patients should have access and be trained on how to prepare for consultations with specialists and family practitioners.
  4. People with Obesity need access to specialized obesity centres, if needed, where a multidisciplinary team led by an endocrinologist can provide all tools available if needed. This team should consist of endocrinologists, psychologists, specialised dieticians, specialised physiotherapists, and abdominal surgeons
  5. Many patients in Belgium do not have French or Dutch as their first language. This is particularly the case for people living with obesity who are disproportionately represented in the non-Belgianborn population. As such, People with Obesity should be proactively made aware of their rights to have a professional interpreter in their native language when attending medical appointments
  6. Belgium’s unusually complex coverage policy should be simplified and a plan put in place to reduce co-payments and other out-of-pocket payments, particularly for low-income households (as per the WHO Report published on 28 February 2023 Can people afford to pay for health care? New evidence on financial protection in belgium (who.int) which
    • Abolishing retrospective reimbursement for all health services;
    • Extending the annual cap on co-payments to all health services and lowering it for people with very low incomes;
    • Granting automatic entitlement to everyone eligible for increased reimbursement (reduced co-payments);
    • Limiting balance billing in outpatient and inpatient care;
    • Strengthening regulation of the price of non-covered medical products
Chapter 3
Chapter 5
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Acknowledgements

The Foundation for the Rights of Citizens with Obesity is a non-profit Private Foundation established under Belgian law, led by citizens of lived experience with obesity representing our rights towards access to healthcare.

This project has been driven by and for us in collaboration with VUB and KU Leuven as Research Partners.

We would also like to acknowledge the financial support and contribution of expertise as part of the multi-stakeholder focus groups from Novo Nordisk Belgium, J&J Belgium and Third-i bvba in the realisation of all elements to this initiative.

Research Partners

Logo of Vrije Universiteit Brussel, featuring the acronym "VUB" in white letters on a blue square, with "Vrije Universiteit Brussel" written to the right in blue text.
The image shows the KU Leuven logo with white text on a dark blue rectangular background and a light blue border on the top and left sides.

Dissemination Partners

Logo of the Belgian Association for the Study of Obesity (BASO), with the letter "O" depicted as a yellow circular brushstroke.
Logo of Obesity Platform Belgium featuring a blue and green abstract circular design next to the text "OPB Obesity Platform Belgium" on a white background.