Obesity Quality & Innovation Collective (QuIC) Infographic
Obesity QuIC Infographic: Successful Themes, Interventions, and Tips
AMGA brought together nine medical groups and health systems for the Obesity Quality and Innovation Collective (QuIC). Participants shared current care practices, tested new approaches to obesity care, and learned from peers at different stages of program maturity.
The sections below present each organization’s intervention and its “QuIC” Tip, the one piece of advice it would give others starting similar work. Interventions are grouped into three successful themes.
- New Care Delivery and Engagement Models
- Standardizing and Scaling Across a Network
- Sustaining the Work: Data, Workforce, and Reimbursement
Theme 1: New Care Delivery and Engagement Models
Intervention: Piloted a series of six monthly virtual shared medical appointments (vSMAs) for patients on anti-obesity medication. Four sessions were led by a registered dietitian and billed, one session each with a sleep medicine specialist and a physical therapist rounded out the series. The team tracked weight, adherence, HbA1c, de-prescription, and patient satisfaction.
Results: Among 12 participants, average weight fell from 253 to 227 lb. (10.2% of body weight). Mean HbA1c dropped 0.28%, and all three patients who started in the prediabetes range returned to normal. Every survey respondent strongly agreed that vSMAs saved time compared with in-person visits.
Intervention: Launched a multispecialty obesity program in July 2025 with bariatric surgeons, dietitians, and other providers. The team cut the out-of-pocket cost of a DEXA body composition scan to a single $100 payment, added a fitness test covering balance, reach, and cardiovascular recovery, and began offering shared medical appointments at three locations in May 2026.
Results: Average patient weight fell from 250 to 240 lb and body mass index (BMI) from 41 to 39 in the first few months after the initial visit. Providers who were initially hesitant now recommend DEXA scans more often.
Intervention: Added a pediatric sports nutrition service, delivered by a sports nutritionist at the Guthrie Weight Loss Center in Sayre, PA, and Big Flats, NY. The service builds on a multidisciplinary team that includes obesity medicine physicians, bariatric surgeons, a psychologist, dietitians, an exercise physiologist, and health coaches.
Results: Met the goal of at least 10 new patients, and referrals continue to grow. The work also surfaced ongoing access challenges and a notable prevalence of disordered eating among referred patients.
Theme 2: Standardizing and Scaling Across a Network
Intervention: Built a centralized, standardized library of about 100 patient- and provider-facing resources for the obesity care program, serving 12 clinicians, 3 dietitians, and a nurse coordinator across six locations. Materials include clinical protocols, medication guides, Epic dot phrases, meal plans, Spanish-language patient education, psychological screening tools, prior authorization guidance, and Medicare GLP-1 Bridge protocols.
Results: Early post-implementation surveys show greater awareness of available resources, strong appreciation for centralized access, and intent to use the materials in practice. Final survey results are pending.
Intervention: Used a baseline provider survey to pinpoint gaps in patient education, peer collaboration, and Epic workflows. The team then built a systemwide directory of 62 weight management sites across three visit types (medical nutrition therapy, medical weight management, and bariatric surgery), all available to adults and children. A new SharePoint site holds 22 patient handouts on nutrition, exercise, and GLP-1 medications.
Results: Epic changes are underway, including a dedicated weight management referral (expected 2027) and screening reports to flag high-risk patients.
Intervention: Delivered a seven-month, evidence-based curriculum to care management nurses and the weight management team, led by an internal subject matter expert. Training centered on shared decision-making and motivational interviewing, and covered weight bias and stigma, self-monitoring, goal setting, nutrition, physical activity, medication adherence, sleep and stress management, and care coordination. The model builds on 18 full-time nurses embedded across 28 primary care clinics.
Results: Average knowledge assessment scores rose from 74.6% before training to 94.5% after. Case managers reported more confidence engaging patients in collaborative goal setting.
Theme 3: Sustaining the Work: Data, Workforce, and Reimbursement
Intervention: Partnered with the program medical director and the Bariatric Surgery Center Registry’s (BSCR’s) data analyst to find gaps in how comorbid conditions were documented. The team added fields in Epic; updated provider note templates; and trained providers, nurses, and dietitians on how the registry scores comorbidities. Progress was shared at monthly provider and nurse meetings.
Results: Seeing outcomes data, including comorbidity resolution after sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass, made the team more engaged in meeting documentation requirements. From January 2023 to June 2026, 93% of patients were seen by a bariatric specialist at their six-month follow-up.
Intervention: Used population health analytics to size the opportunity across a large independent practice association of 1,100+ physicians in 600+ offices. Of patients with obesity, 70% had hypertension, 48% had diabetes, and 25% had an ED visit, yet only 9.2% were on an obesity medication. The group launched pharmacy-led GLP-1 monitoring (adherence, weight, side effects, nutrition, activity, and readiness for change) and educated physicians on the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program and changing health plan criteria.
Results: Developed a strategic obesity care roadmap, identified physician champions, and set next steps to test PCP-led, centralized, and hybrid care models through a pilot.
Intervention: Replaced a consultation-only payment framework with a physician compensation model that pays for both new and follow-up obesity visits, combining RVU- and value-based elements. The team paired it with a business case for hiring advanced practice providers and relaunched the service as the CardioMetabolic Health Program to reduce stigma and broaden its reach.
Results: The Compensation Committee approved the model in January 2026, and the first physician accepted it in June 2026, ahead of the August target. The APP return-on-investment analysis is complete.