Dr. Bharti Shetye, a nationally recognized, board-certified obesity medicine specialist, is being honored in Category 6: Improving Government Efficiency, for expanding access to evidence-based weight management services for Veterans. Recognizing the need for coordinated, physician-led obesity care within VHA, Dr. Shetye has gone beyond her primary care responsibilities to establish an interdisciplinary approach that addresses obesity alongside the complex health conditions affecting Veterans.

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Dr. Shetye provides individualized weight-management care and contributes her expertise to interdisciplinary bariatric medical and surgical teams. Her program has enrolled more than 400 Veterans, helping patients achieve weight loss while improving chronic conditions such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, osteoarthritis, chronic pain, anxiety, and depression.

 

Beyond improving Veterans’ health and quality of life, the program is delivering meaningful financial benefits. With an estimated weighted annual cost reduction of $1,893 per patient, driven primarily by lower inpatient costs, the initiative has generated approximately $600,000 in healthcare savings to date. By emphasizing prevention and addressing obesity as a complex chronic disease, Dr. Shetye is helping reduce Veterans’ risks for serious complications while creating a more proactive, coordinated, and cost-effective model of care.