About this course

Learning Objectives

• Recognize which electrolyte disorders in patients with EDs are dangerous.
• Discuss how to treat basic electrolyte abnormalities found in ED patients.
• Explain the utility of electrolyte abnormalities in diagnosing covert EDs.

Learning Levels

• All Levels

Course Instructor(s)

• 

  Philip S. Mehler, MD, FACP, FAED, CEDS

  Executive Medical Director & Chief Medical Officer, Eating Recovery Center

  Philip Mehler founded the ACUTE Center for Eating Disorders and Severe Malnutrition in 2001 and served as its Executive Medical Director, from its inception together with being the Chief Scientific Officer. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha from the University of Colorado and then its medical school, he began his career at Denver Health 40 years ago and was formerly its Chief of Internal Medicine and then Denver Health Chief Medical Officer (CMO) until he was promoted to its Medical Director, a position he held until his retirement from Denver Health in 2014. Dr. Mehler is also the Glassman Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and has for decades conducted research into the optimal medical treatment of the most severe cases of Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia. He has authored more than 600 scientific publications, including five textbooks published by Johns Hopkins University Press. Dr. Mehler was the recipient of the Academy of Eating Disorders 2012 Outstanding Clinician Award, has been recognized among the Best Doctors in America” for the past 23 years in a row, and was voted the Top Internal Medicine physician in Denver multiple times by 5280 Magazine up to and including 2024. In 2023 he was honored by Iaedp with its Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2025 he was also awarded the Academy of Eating Disorders Lifetime Achievement Award, becoming the first medical physician to win both awards in the field of eating disorders.Previously Dr. Mehler was awarded the Florence Sabin Award for contributions to the health of Colorado and the Silver & Gold award, the highest recognition given to an alumnus of the University of Colorado. He is a member and fellow of the Eating Disorders Research Society and the Academy of Eating Disorders, as well as a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Eating Disorders and serves as the Senior Editor of The Journal of Eating Disorders. Since the early 1990s, Dr. Mehler has lectured extensively on a national and international level, as the leading medical expert on the topic of the medical complications of eating disorders.

References

• Leach, K., Bauschka, M., Watters, A., & Mehler, P. S. (2024). Medical and psychiatric characteristics of patients hospitalized for severe restrictive eating disorders: analysis of 545 consecutive patients with severe anorexia nervosa or avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder. Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, 65(4), 347-356.
• Gibson, D., Sterrett, K., Nemani, S., & Mehler, P. S. (2025). The Medical Complications of Purging Behaviours Associated With Eating Disorders. European Eating Disorders Review, 33(5), 853-863.
• Mehler, P. S., & Gibson, D. (2026). Finding the cause of severe hypokalemia. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, 93(4), 198-198.
• Khatri, V., Bauschka, M., Foley, M., Lundberg, C., & Mehler, P. (2023). A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Managing End-Stage Renal Disease in Anorexia Nervosa: A Case Report. Clinical Medicine Insights: Case Reports, 16, 11795476231169385.
• Nitsch, A., Watters, A., Manwaring, J., Bauschka, M., Hebert, M., & Mehler, P. S. (2023). Clinical features of adult patients with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder presenting for medical stabilization: a descriptive study. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 56(5), 978-990.