Improving patient compliance in multivitamin supplementation

owenhaskins
Apr 21
3 min read

Compliance with any multivitamin and/or protein supplement regimen can be difficult, especially after bariatric surgery. Nutritional deficiency, as a result of gastric bypass surgery, is a substantial possibility without any form of supplementation and even with compliance to standard multivitamin supplementation.¹

Problematic adherence

The multivitamin supplementation (MVS) regimen could have a major impact on patient adherence, because taking several pills every day is a problem for many bariatric patients.² Forgetting to take daily MVS and difficulty swallowing MVS are the two primary barriers identified for all assessment points by Modi et al.³ In addition to forgetting and difficulty swallowing, other factors included inconvenience, too expensive, difficult to understand doctors instruction, dosing does not match my lifestyle, side effects and would rather do something else.³ Furthermore, the costs of treatment with MVS have always been considered a major barrier to adequate lifelong adherence.²

WLS Products: From patients for patients

WLS Products is a supplement company from the Netherlands that specializes in developing and distributing nutritional supplements for bariatric patients. Melanie Wouters, CEO of WLS Products: “Our aim is to make life easier for our customers. Part of my team consists of bariatric patients, we know first hand how overwhelming, difficult and costly it can be to adhere to all the regimes and rules after bariatric surgery. This is why we aim to offer affordable, tasty and easy solutions to please all palates and wallets.”

WLS Products offer their own budget-line of bariatric must-haves under the name WLS Original, to offer affordable alternatives for all patients. WLS also picks its partners to work together towards the same goal of improving post-bariatric life.

Bariatric Fusion as supplement partner

WLS Products is the European distributor for the US-based company Bariatric Fusion, whose mission is similar: to create products that significantly impact the quality of life for bariatric patients.

Bariatric Fusion is a member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) Corporate Council and is committed to scientific research in a field that poses more questions than answers. All products are formulated in partnership with medical and clinical professionals. Bariatric Fusion is the first on the market to introduce a bariatric multivitamin in a sublingual quick-melt tablet, making it an ideal option in the early post-operative phase.

Products with high patient compliance

The product with the highest patient compliance should be affordable, tasty, correctly dosed for bariatric patients and EASY above all. Bariatrc Fusion offers this with their Complete Chewable Multivitamin, an ‘all inclusive’ supplement,” explained Wouters. “It improves compliance by decreasing the number of tablets patients need to take. The nature of a chewable supplement makes the vitamins and minerals more available for absorption, since the micronutrients begin to be broken down before they reach absorption sites. This product is a hit with thousands of patients in the US and in Europe for those reasons.”

WLS Support for GLP-1 Lifestyles

We also recognize the rapidly growing population of patients using GLP-1 medications. To support their specific needs, WLS Products has developed a dedicated range of vitamins and supportive products focused on maintaining adequate nutrient intake, supporting digestion, and fitting seamlessly into changing eating patterns. These solutions are designed to complement the lifestyle of GLP-1 users, offering practical and well-tolerated options for daily use.

Free service for doctors and clinics

WLS offers free samples and flyers from all three brands as a service to doctors and clinics throughout Europe.

“We believe firmly, that patients should try a product before they commit to it,” concluded Wouters. “Selecting a good product that fits one’s taste, need and budget, makes for better patient compliance in the long run. Being a patient myself, I know how important this is to avoid deficiencies.”

Further information

Would you like free samples and flyers for your patients? Do you have questions about the products or are you interested to learn more about them? Please contact our European product manager Carina van Overveld to help you, take care of your patients.

Please email: carina@wlsproducts.nl

References

Gasteyger C, Suter M, Gaillard RC, Giusti V. Nutritional deficiencies after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass for morbid obesity often cannot be prevented by standard multivitamin supplementation. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008:87:1128-33.
Ziegler, O, Sirveaux, MA, Brunaud, L, et al. (2009) Medical follow up after bariatric surgery: nutritional and drug issues. General recommendations for the prevention and treatment of nutritional deficiencies. Diabetes Metab 35, 544–557.
Modi, AC, Zeller, MH, Xanthakos, SA, et al. (2013) Adherence to vitamin supplementation following adolescent bariatric surgery. Obesity 21, E190–E195