- Case Study
- Prisma Health · South Carolina
How a major South Carolina health system
coordinated the obesity care continuum to improve outcomes and program economics
Prisma Health™, an $8 billion system and the largest private nonprofit healthcare organization in South Carolina, serves over 1.6 million patients annually across South Carolina and parts of Tennessee. Operating 19 acute and specialty hospitals, 300+ practice sites, and employing over 32,000 team members, Prisma Health partnered with Minerra™ Health to implement a comprehensive obesity care platform.
12-Month Results
26%
Increase in bariatric surgical case volume
2.5 Months
Faster average progression from enrollment to surgery
65%+
Patients actively engaged across the care continuum
33%
Reduction in patient attrition across the pathway
4:1
Three-Year Return on Investment
Strategic Context
Obesity care is often fragmented across health systems.
Across many health systems, obesity care services operate independently across multiple programs: lifestyle and behavioral interventions, medication-based obesity treatment including GLP-1 and other anti-obesity medications, and bariatric surgery programs.
Without coordinated infrastructure, patients often move between programs without clear progression. Health systems increasingly require infrastructure that coordinates the full obesity care continuum.
Patient Drop-Off Between Programs
Without coordinated handoffs, patients fall out between programs with no active re-engagement pathway.
Limited Visibility Into Patient Progression
No unified view of where patients are in the care pathway at any given time.
Underutilized Bariatric Surgical Capacity
Patients stall before reaching the OR, leaving high-margin surgical capacity unused.
Leakage to External Medication Vendors
GLP-1 and anti-obesity medication management flows outside the health system entirely.
Strategic Context
Solution: The Minerra Comprehensive Obesity Care Model
Prisma Health implemented the Minerra platform to coordinate obesity care across three treatment pathways: lifestyle intervention, medication management, and bariatric surgery. Minerra provides the operating infrastructure for the obesity care continuum, coordinating patient engagement, care navigation, and AI intelligence across treatment pathways.
01
Lifestyle and Behavior Intervention
Structured coaching and behavioral support help patients build sustainable lifestyle habits, keeping patients active in care and improving readiness for advanced treatment options.
02
Medication Management
Clinically governed use of GLP-1 and other anti-obesity medications, with treatment adherence tracking and care team coordination across pathways.
03
Bariatric Surgery Navigation
Patients who meet clinical criteria are guided through the surgical pathway with milestone coordination, pre-operative preparation tracking, and surgical readiness monitoring.
04
Unified Intake and Care Navigation
Patients enter one coordinated obesity program that routes them to the appropriate treatment pathway, reducing drop-off between programs and coordinating care across clinical teams.
Patient pathway routing is guided by Minerra’s clinical intelligence layer, which evaluates each patient’s clinical profile, readiness indicators, and engagement history to match them to the appropriate treatment pathway. This removes variability from the intake process and ensures that clinical criteria — not administrative capacity — drive care decisions.
05
AI-Powered Intelligence
Operational dashboards provide leadership with real-time insight into patient progression, treatment adherence, time-to-surgery analytics, and cohorts at risk of disengagement.
Powered by Minerra’s MIND-X AI risk stratification engine, dashboards surface at-risk patient cohorts before drop-off occurs — enabling care teams to intervene proactively rather than reactively. MIND-X continuously analyzes engagement signals, milestone progression, and clinical indicators to prioritize outreach at the individual patient level.
Strategic Context
Outcomes: The Minerra Comprehensive Obesity Care Model
Following implementation of the Minerra platform, Prisma Health observed measurable improvements across its obesity care programs.
Surgical Throughput
26%
Increase in Surgical Volume
Improved patient progression activated underutilized bariatric capacity, increasing surgical volume by 26%.
Minerra AI
Minerra’s MIRA™ AI identifies patients who are ready to advance but stalled in the care pathway, enabling targeted re-engagement that improves conversion and optimizes surgical capacity—without adding burden to care teams.
Published 12-month outcome. Directional chart representation. Source: Minerra Health / Prisma Health Partnership Data, 2024–2025.
Time to Surgery
2.5 Months
Faster Average Time to Surgery
Patients completed treatment milestones more efficiently, reducing average time from enrollment to surgery by 2.5 months. Milestone coordination and pre-operative preparation tracking directly drove this improvement.
Minerra AI
Minerra’s AI-driven milestone tracking and Epic (EHR)-enabled progress note integration identify delays in pre-surgical preparation early, helping keep patients on track while reducing administrative burden on care teams.
Published 12-month outcome. ROI chart is illustrative based on documented financial drivers. Source: Minerra Health / Prisma Health Partnership Data, 2024–2025.
Patient Engagement
65%+
Sustained Patient Engagement Rate
More than 65% of patients remained actively engaged across the care continuum. Structured engagement keeps patients active in care and improves readiness for advanced treatment options.
Minerra AI
Minerra’s AI-driven engagement & intervention tools help sustain patient involvement across the care continuum, supporting a 65%+ engagement rate at Prisma Health without additional staffing.
Patient Attrition
33%
Reduction in Patient Attrition
Structured engagement and coordinated navigation reduced patient drop-off across the obesity care pathway by 33%. Fewer patients were lost between programs or before reaching the OR.
Minerra AI
Minerra’s MIRA™ AI and Nudge Engine detect early signs of patient disengagement across the care pathway, enabling timely interventions that reduce drop-off and keep patients progressing through the program.
“
“In the post-COVID era, and in the wake of the Great Resignation, it is more critical than ever to leverage digital platforms to support and guide patients from seminar to surgery within our multidisciplinary bariatric programs.”
Dr. Shanu Kothari
Chair and Head of Surgery, Prisma Health Past President, ASMBS Minerra Health Clinical Advisor
4:1
Three-Year Return on Investment
1.6M
Patients served annually at Prisma Health
Financial Impact
Strengthened program economics without expanding clinical staffing or infrastructure.
Bariatric surgery and metabolic care are among the highest-margin service lines for health systems. By coordinating care across obesity care pathways, Prisma Health strengthened program performance without expanding clinical staffing or infrastructure.
Key Financial Drivers
- Increased surgical case completion
- Improved patient retention within the health system
- Expanded downstream specialty services
- Increased surgical throughput without adding clinical FTEs
4:1
Three-Year Return on Investment
- Three-year return at Prisma Health
- No expansion of clinical staffing or infrastructure required
The Model
Built for health systems, employers, and payers.
The same coordinated obesity care infrastructure serves health systems, employers, and payers through one unified platform.
Unified Intake
One coordinated program routes patients to the appropriate pathway
AI-Powered Intelligence
Real-time dashboards on progression, engagement, and attrition risk
Care Navigation
Milestone coordination from enrollment through post-operative care
Live in 60 Days
From contract to operational within one quarter; no new FTEs required
Why No New Hires
No additional FTEs are required because Minerra’s AI handles the monitoring, risk flagging, and engagement prioritization that would otherwise require dedicated care coordination staff. The platform scales with patient volume — without scaling headcount.
Explore the Opportunity
Is your organization experiencing any of the following?
You can benefit from our coordinated obesity care infrastructure. Minerra Health offers a Comprehensive Obesity Care Readiness Assessment to help evaluate your potential.