We were lucky to catch up with Patricia McClendon, M.D. recently and have shared our conversation below.
Patricia, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I mainly get my work ethic from my parents. My parents emigrated to Canada from St Vincent & the Grenadines for a better life and more opportunities. As such, they worked hard to educate themselves, and furthered their respective careers. Seeing them working hard to provide our family a better life made me realize that nothing in life is given to you, and that you have to persevere to achieve success. My father particularly instilled in me that once you have intelligence and education, there should be nothing holding you back in life if you work hard to overcome adversities. Using that work ethic enabled me to excel in school, medical school, residency, and then in my career as a Supervising Physician, Adjunct Professor of a Bariatric Fellowship program, Medical Director, and now owner of a thriving Bariatric Medicine (Weight Loss) Medical Practice called “Bari-Med M.D.” in Virginia. Now that I have children of my own, I’m driven by them and determined to leave a legacy that they would be proud of.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Many people are unfamiliar with the term “Bariatric Medicine Physician” so I’ll start by explaining what I am and what I do. A Bariatric Medicine Physician is a Medical Doctor (M.D.) that has undergone the additional medical board certification in Bariatric/Obesity medicine to specialize in the medical management of weight loss in patients who are Obese or Overweight. I am also board certified in Family Medicine and have been practicing for about 15 years. I started my medical weight loss practice, “Bari-Med M.D.” in 2021 to treat not only patients who are suffering from Obesity, but to also treat their comorbidities such as Diabetes, Hypertension, and Hyperlipidemia to name a few. I created my practice to ensure that my patients had a safe, healthy option for weight loss since the weight loss industry is so crowded with companies selling “snake oil” and confusing patients with misinformation and disinformation. I enable my patients to lose a tremendous amount of weight by taking a Concierge Medicine approach to weight loss. During my consults, I personalize a medical weight loss regimen for each patient to include safe weight loss medications such as Tirzepatide (Zepbound/Mounjaro), Semaglutide (Wegovy/Ozempic), Liraglutide (Saxenda/Victoza), Contrave, Qsymia, Plenity, Xenical, Phentermine (Lomaira), Phendimetrazine, & Diethylpropion, if they are medically appropriate for the patient. In addition, I use Evidence-Based Medicine when discussing the keys of successful, long-term weight loss based on clinical studies. All of my patients’ appointments are with me, one-on-one which has proven to be beneficial in enhancing their long-term success which has set my practice apart from many weight loss clinics. Since all appointments are with me, my practice accepts insurances such as Aetna and BCBS.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Drive – My drive and need to evolve, is what empowered me to progress from my role as a Medical Bariatrician within a busy bariatric surgical practice of a regional hospital system in Virginia to starting my own Bariatric practice. This journey has been accompanied by some challenges but has been truly rewarding!
- Compassion – My compassion for my patients is one of the qualities about me that has truly set my practice apart from many weight loss clinics. I truly care for my patients and don’t approach them with a “one size fits all” approach. I truly get to know my patients and as a result of doing that, help them to be the healthiest version of themselves by not only losing weight, and improving their comorbidities, but also helping them with a lifestyle change!
- Ingenuity- I opened my practice during the COVID pandemic in 2021. Due to COVID, we had to provide telemedicine services. This proved to be extremely beneficial to all of our patients’ success because it enabled them to conveniently attend our appointments leading to more engagement, accountability and larger weight loss! Due to this success, my medical practice is 100% Telemedicine and has grown to well over a thousand successful weight loss patients! I truly believe that Telemedicine is changing the face of how we deliver medical care. Embracing that and navigating how to deliver that safely and efficiently to patients has been the key to my success!
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
The number one obstacle that I am currently facing would be the lack of insurance coverage for weight loss services and weight loss medications. We have had to limit the number of insurances we accept due to the fact that certain insurances still don’t deem weight loss services as being medically necessary. In addition to that, we still struggle with certain insurance coverage of weight loss medications although they have proven to be not only effective with weight loss, but also improve overall health including blood sugars, cholesterol, and even with cardiovascular disease prevention! I have been a strong advocate for my patients but the battle to obtain insurance coverage for these expensive medications continues to prove difficult. I am hopeful that the popularity of these weight loss medications would compel the insurance companies to take a closer look at the health benefits of these medications and provide insurance coverage. It is well recognized that obesity is a chronic illness associated with many related diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension. Obesity deserves the same treatment and attention as any other chronic illness! The recommendation that I give to all of my patients when denied coverage by their insurance, is to contact their Health Plan, HR department or Pharmacy Benefit Manager to pursue coverage for weight loss medications.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://barimedmd.com/
