First Twenty-five Healthcare Professionals Enrolled in ReShapeCare™, a Reimbursable, Evidence-based Virtual Weight Management Program

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Sept. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ReShape Lifesciences Inc. (OTCQB:RSLS), a global weight-loss solutions leader, today announced that the first 25 healthcare providers have partnered with ReShapeCare^TM since the program's launch in June of this year, allowing referrals of their patients to the reimbursable, virtual weight-management program.

Patients within the program include individuals currently receiving treatment, those who may have lost continuity of care, patients pursuing weight-loss surgery and those involved in a medically supervised weight-loss program. ReShapeCare is now available for bariatric surgeons and physicians to improve treatment and health outcomes for obesity and associated chronic disease through an evidence-based, customized service that increases access and coordination of care from certified clinical health coaches.

"The rapid enrollment in ReShapeCare is an indicator that physicians have been looking for a better way to deliver tailored, high-touch support to their patients," said Bart Bandy, CEO and President, ReShape Lifesciences™. "COVID-19 has only amplified the need for a virtual solution that promotes safety and engagement to help patients get optimal results through a program that can scale a critical service in ways not previously possible."

There is a strong body of clinical research that demonstrates virtual health coaching improves patient outcomes and leads to more adherent patients and more successful weight-loss outcomes. According to recent research, medically managed patients that participated in video-based coaching lost more weight (7.7% of total body weight loss [TBWL]) compared to those that participated via standard in-office visits (3.4% of TBWL lost) over a 12-week period.[i]

"I am thrilled to be one of the first physicians in the U.S. to offer this new clinically-proven program to my patients who are considering or have had weight-loss surgery," said Carl Pesta, DO, FASMBS, Medical Director of McLaren Macomb Bariatric Surgery Institute in Michigan. "While we know this virtual model can increase patient adherence leading to positive health outcomes, it addresses one of the biggest barriers patients had to contend with—lack of reimbursement. This is a game changer for my practice and, more importantly, for my patients."

ReShapeCare allows providers to get closer to patients, virtually, for customized plans based on a patient's needs and physician's plan of care. Program components include live-video visits, online and mobile patient-education materials, the use of health-tracking devices and a patient-centric approach based on the program's "Seven Pillars of Wellness" approach.

For those providers interested in learning more, please email [email protected]. For more information on ReShape Lifesciences visit www.reshapelifesciences.com.

ReShape Lifesciences will hold a webinar at 6:00pm ET on Tuesday, September 15 entitled ReShapeCare™: A Reimbursed Telehealth Program for All Weight-Loss Patients.

Healthcare providers interested in participating can register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7661877918248892175.

About ReShape Lifesciences Inc.

ReShape Lifesciences is America's premier weight-loss solutions company, offering an integrated portfolio of proven products and services that manage and treat obesity and metabolic disease. The FDA-approved Lap-Band® program provides minimally invasive, long-term treatment of obesity and is an alternative to more invasive surgical stapling procedures such as the gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy. The ReShape Vest™ System is an investigational (outside the U.S.) minimally invasive, laparoscopically implanted medical device that wraps around the stomach, emulating the gastric volume reduction effect of conventional weight-loss surgery. It helps enable rapid weight loss in obese and morbidly obese patients without permanently changing patient anatomy. The recently launched ReShapeCare™ Virtual health coaching program is a virtual telehealth weight management program that supports lifestyle changes for all weight-loss patients, to help them keep the weight off over time.

Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Statement:

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially. The most important risks and uncertainties are described in Item 1A of our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 and Item 1A of our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

[i] Johnson KE, Alencar MK, Coakley KE, et al. Telemedicine-based health coaching is effective for inducing weight loss and improving metabolic markers. Telemed J E Health. 2019;25(2):85-92. doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2018.0002

SOURCE ReShape Lifesciences