<div>Title: Virtually Delivered Eating Disorder Treatment using</div><div>an Enhanced Multidisciplinary Care Team:</div><div>A Case Study</div><div>Running Title: Enhanced Virtual Eating Disorder Treatment</div><div>Authors and Affiliations:</div><div>Megan Hellner, DrPH, MPH, RD, Equip Health, San Diego, CA</div><div>Cara Bohon, PhD, Equip Health, San Diego, CA; Stanford University School
of Medicine, Stanford, CA</div><div>Samuel Kolander, MD, Equip Health, San Diego, CA; New York State
Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY</div><div>Erin Parks, PhD, Equip Health, San Diego, CA</div><div>Word Count (Abstract): 200
Word Count (Manuscript): 1994</div><div>Data Availability Statement: The data that support the findings of this
study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable
request.</div><div>Conflict of Interest Statement: The authors have no conflict to declare.</div><div>Abstract:</div><div><b>Objective:</b> While family based treatment (FBT) is the
recommended treatment for adolescents and young adults with eating
disorders, it is often not geographically accessible, and outcomes can
be negatively impacted by misalignment between treatment providers. The
aim of this case report is to describe outcomes of two patients treated
virtually with an augmented team approach to provide preliminary
evidence of feasibility and efficacy. <b>Methods:</b> Two patients
were enrolled at Equip for 4 weeks of treatment. Engagement and outcomes
were assessed before, after, and at 4 week follow-up. Sessions were held
via telehealth with four providers (therapist, dietitian, peer mentor
and family mentor). <b>Results:</b> Patient one gained 6.4 lbs, and
patient two gained 4.2 lbs during the trial. Eating disorder symptom
scores also decreased for each patient. Patients attended 18 and 16
total sessions respectively, and parents and patients reported that they
would “definitely recommend” the treatment to a friend or family,
suggesting strong acceptability. Weight gain continued for both patients
at 4 week follow-up (2 lbs and 4.8 lbs respectively).<b>Discussion:</b> These findings offer preliminary support for this
treatment resulting in meaningful clinical improvements. Future research
should examine this treatment in larger samples, with longer follow-up
periods and comparison treatments.</div><div>Keywords: Telemedicine, Family Therapy,
Adolescents, Anorexia Nervosa, Feeding and Eating Disorders, Mentors</div><div>Key Clinical Message: Both patients experienced meaningful clinical
improvements with this virtual approach and the augmented treatment team
in regards to weight gain, acceptability and clinical assessment scores.
These findings offer preliminary support for this model.</div><div>Introduction:</div><div>Eating Disorders are life-threatening conditions characterized by a
marked disturbance in how one experiences weight (DSM-V).  Further,
eating disorders have the second highest standardized mortality rates of
all psychiatric illnesses (Chesney et al., 2014). Family-based treatment
(FBT) is well established as the gold standard treatment for anorexia
nervosa (AN) (Couturier, 2013). Delivery of FBT requires use of a
specialized provider trained in the approach, which presents a challenge
for families residing in ‘treatment deserts’ without access to
specialized services.</div>