ACHT

ACHT - Adipositas Care und Health Therapy

In Germany, every second adult is overweight and almost one in four is obese - and the trend is rising. Obesity is a chronic illness. The risk of for example developing cardiovascular, joint and cancer disease and diabetes increases significantly through obesity. In addition to those functional and health limitations, many people are stigmatised which can lead to social exclusion and a reduced quality of life. Available conservative therapies do not always lead to sufficient, long-term weight loss. In those cases and if the disease is very pronounced, an obesity surgery (bariatric-metabolic surgery) can help. In order to ensure its success, patients require long-term care after the operation. Currently, those necessary outpatient care standards and provisions do not yet exist. Inpatient obesity centres try to compensate for this with their own structures and limited resources, but are already reaching their limits.

The aim of the ACHT project is to ensure long-term therapeutic success after an operation. This is done through a digitally supported, structured, cross-sectoral and close-to-home aftercare program. Obesity case managers coordinate the aftercare process and monitor the therapy goals. A digital case file links patients, case managers, resident doctors and obesity centers. Individual exercise goals, nutritional advice and psychological support are part of ACHT. ACHT is connected to quality assurance measures of a medical society.

Four groups are compared in the ACHT study. One group begins their ACHT aftercare program directly after the operation, another group 18 months after the operation. These two groups are compared to patients who receive standard care. Through these two intervention groups, we hope to examine the long-term effects of the program within the given time constraints of the study.

ACHT is funded for three and a half years by the Federal Joint Committee as part of the Innovation Fund with approx. 4.5 million euros. If successful, the aftercare, which has not yet been established in regular care and is primarily carried out in obesity centers, can be carried out close to home with resident doctors. ACHT thus contributes to an improved medical care and the strengthening of outpatient structures in aftercare. The digital case file links patients with the actors involved, which in turn improves patient adherence. These measures can improve quality of life and health in the long term.

The components of ACHT

[Translate to English:] Projektpartner

ACHT is carried out by the foundation together with the following partners:

Universitätsklinikum Würzburg Interdisziplinäres Adipositaszentrum

Adipositaszentrum Klinikum Memmingen

Chirurgische Klinik München-Bogenhausen

Schön Klinik Nürnberg Fürth

Chirurgisches Zentrum der WolfartKlinik, München-Gräfelfing

RoMed Klinik Bad Aibling Adipositas Zentrum 

Klinik für Allgemein-, Viszeral- und Thoraxchirurgie Klinikum Nürnberg Nord

Klinik für Allgemein-, Viszeral-, Thorax-, Gefäß- und Kinderchirurgie der Stadt Passau

Institut für Gesundheitsökonomie und Management im Gesundheitswesen, Helmholtz Zentrum München

symeda GmbH

AOK Bayern - Die Gesundheitskasse

Kassenärztliche Vereinigung Bayerns

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Allgemein- und Viszeralchirurgie