For fertility clinics, the conversation around BMI and treatment eligibility has long ended in the same place: a patient who isn't yet a candidate, a clinical standard that has to be upheld, and no structured pathway in between.
For many patients, that gap is more than a delay in treatment—it's a gap in care. Obesity is a chronic, relapsing disease that affects reproductive health, pregnancy outcomes, and long-term metabolic health. Yet patients who fall outside treatment eligibility criteria often find themselves caught between two worlds: not yet ready for fertility treatment, but without access to the specialized metabolic support needed to get there.
That's the gap we built this program to close—and as a physician who has spent my career at the intersection of reproductive and metabolic health, it's one I've seen firsthand.
Today, we’re launching a fully virtual, evidence-based metabolic health and weight management program designed specifically for fertility patients who aren’t yet candidates for treatment due to BMI thresholds for safety and care outcomes—and built to integrate into your existing referral workflow without adding burden to your team.
What this means for your practice
When a patient doesn't meet your BMI criteria for treatment, you now have somewhere to send them. Not a generic referral—a structured clinical program that takes on the metabolic work, manages the patient through to their goal, and returns them to your care with a clear handoff when they're ready.
The refer-manage-return pathway is simple by design:
- You refer to Frame: When a patient isn’t yet a candidate or is waiting for their first appointment, referring to Frame takes minutes and requires no additional staff time to manage.
- We manage the day-to-day: We evaluate each patient individually and build a care plan around the four evidence-based pillars of obesity medicine: behavioral modification, nutrition therapy, physical activity, and medical intervention, including GLP-1 receptor agonists and other anti-obesity medications where clinically indicated, as well as surgical referrals. Fully virtual, with after-hours availability.
- We send them back ready: When they meet their metabolic benchmarks, we coordinate the transition back to your clinic through a clear, documented pathway. As part of that handoff, we can facilitate pre-consult labs and genetic testing so your team can move directly into treatment planning from day one.
Why we built it this way
Reproductive medicine teams are already operating at capacity. Any program that adds administrative complexity, fragments communication, or creates unclear handoffs fails in practice regardless of its clinical merit. We built this program around that reality: to take something off your plate entirely and return patients who are clinically ready. It's about focus, on all sides.
It's also about recognizing obesity for what it is: a chronic medical condition that requires ongoing, evidence-based care. In my experience, these patients aren't less motivated—they're underserved. Too often, patients who don't meet fertility treatment criteria are told to lose weight without being given a structured clinical pathway to do so. The result is that many disengage, cycle through ineffective approaches, or are left navigating their metabolic health alone. Patients deserve more than a recommendation. They deserve a care destination.
We're already working with OB/GYN and primary care providers who refer patients into fertility care, which means patients arriving at your clinic through those channels may already be in our program—and already progressing. This isn't a new layer in the care continuum. For many of your patients, it's already part of it.
"One of the hardest parts of this conversation is telling a patient they aren't a candidate yet and having nothing structured to offer them," said Dr. Shefali Shastri, Reproductive Endocrinologist and Regional Medical Director at CCRM Fertility. "Frame's program changes that to ensure that patients get the care they need and brings them back to the clinic when ready."
A new standard for what happens when treatment has to wait
A patient without a clear next step is a patient at risk of disengaging altogether. Our program provides that destination: a structured place to receive treatment, stay connected to their family-building goals, and keep moving forward so they don't get lost between specialties or fall out of care altogether.
BMI thresholds are a clinical tool. What comes after them is now a clinical program.
