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CMCOEM Center of Excellence Program

The Mexican College for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Diseases (CMCOEM) (http://www NULL.CMCOEM NULL.org/) is an increasingly important professional society dedicated to the bariatric surgery specialty. Members of the college have trained a large number of colleagues on the continent and played a leading role in organizing IFSO’s first Latin American Symposium.

Launched in mid-2011, the CMCOEM center of excellence program reflects the society’s commitment to create unifying criteria for diagnosis, medical and nutritional management, surgical treatment and comprehensive follow-up of patients with obesity. The CMCOEM program is not a modified version of another specialty’s designation. Instead, it reflects the specific needs of obese patients and the unique roles and responsibilities of bariatric and metabolic surgery providers.

The CMCOEM designation is available to Mexican surgeons who are members in good standing with the college, and to hospitals that provide bariatric care on an inpatient basis. The official designation awarded to participants is ”Centro de Excelencia en Cirugía Bariátrica del Colegio Mexicano de Cirugía para la Obesidad y Enfermedades Metabólicas.”

CMCOEM Program Leadership

Many of Mexico’s leading bariatric surgeons have been involved in helping to shape the CMCOEM program. These surgeons are among the world’s leading bariatric authorities and represent some of the finest bariatric surgery programs around the globe.

The college’s governing board has worked to ensure that the CMCOEM program reflects the nuances related to the care of bariatric and metabolic surgery patients in Mexico. They initiated their involvement through the Latin American subcommittee of SRC’s International Bariatric Surgery Review Committee, which governs SRC’s own International Center of Excellence for Bariatric Surgery (ICE) program.

Designation Awarded to the Surgeon and Hospital

Truly excellent patient care is the result of both the individual surgeon and the hospital at which the surgery is performed. The CMCOEM designation is therefore awarded together to the surgeon and their hospital, which enables patients to distinguish providers who have met the requirements from delivering high-quality perioperative and long-term follow-up care from those who do not.

Comprehensive Requirements

The bariatric and metabolic surgery specialty is unique in that a dedicated, multidisciplinary team is needed to deliver the most appropriate surgical weight loss care required for patient success. A commitment to safety and long-term care necessitates that the requirements for CMCOEM designation be comprehensive, research-based and verified through a rigorous site inspection.

There are 10 requirements for bariatric programs based in hospitals:

  1. Institutional Commitment to Excellence
  2. Surgical Experience and Volumes
  3. Designated Medical Director
  4. Responsive Critical Care Support
  5. Appropriate Equipment and Instruments
  6. Surgeon Dedication and Qualified Call Coverage
  7. Clinical Pathways and Standardized Operating Procedures
  8. Bariatric Nurses, Physician Extenders and Program Coordinator
  9. Patient Support Groups
  10. Process for Long-Term Follow-Up, including BOLD

Learn more about the requirements for the CMCOEM program.

BOLD

SRC created the Bariatric Outcomes Longitudinal DatabaseTM (BOLDTM) to help ensure ongoing compliance with the center of excellence programs it administers and develop general knowledge about optimal bariatric surgery practices. Established in 2007, BOLD is now the world’s largest repository of clinical bariatric surgery patient information, with more than 350,000 patients currently in the database and 12,000 new patients added monthly.

Compared to other clinical registries, BOLD is distinct in that data is collected during each patient encounter and can be accessed in real-time. BOLD is also uniquely focused on patient care, weight loss and comorbidity resolution over the long term, not just on 30-day surgical outcomes.

Surgeons who participate in BOLD own their data and have access to numerous daily reports that contain detailed information about their surgical practice. Learn more about the database, its benefits and how to access information for research in the BOLD section.

Learn more about BOLD activation and approvals that enable CMCOEM participants to enter patient information into BOLD.

Getting Started and Program Support

The first step of the process is to register online which typically takes only a few minutes.

To help guide applicants through the application process, SRC offers surgeons and hospitals a free, one-on-one consultation with an SRC Support team member. During this phone call, SRC Support explains how to best prepare for and complete the application to participate in the CMCOEM program.

In addition, SRC Support maintains a help line for CMCOEM participants. A representative is available Monday – Friday from 8:30 am – 5:30 pm Eastern time at +1.919.792.3770 or via email at srcsupport@surgicalreview.org (srcsupport null@null surgicalreview NULL.org).