This Fortune 100 company is a global leader in engineering, construction, and project management. With over 50,000 employees working in diverse and physically demanding roles, the organization sought to improve care access and reduce costs tied to musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, one of its largest healthcare cost drivers. With a workforce exposed to physically demanding tasks and tight deadlines, the organization faced unique challenges in managing MSK risk at scale.
The problem
Late-stage care was driving preventable costs
Too often, employees received care only after symptoms had progressed. By the time they engaged, their only options were imaging, injections, or surgery. Traditional models failed to identify MSK risk early, leading to expensive and often avoidable interventions that affected productivity and financial performance.
The company needed a better way to flag MSK risk early and reach employees before costs escalated. For a national employer with high-cost members spread across lines of business, these gaps quickly added up.
The solution
Predict enabled early detection and proactive intervention
Sword Predict identified the 4% of employees responsible for 80% of MSK costs, surfacing high-risk individuals up to eight months ahead of a potential surgery. Through high-touch outreach, Sword’s team enrolled members into virtual PT through Thrive, and when appropriate, offered support via Bloom and Move.
This model helped the company reach at-risk employees earlier and connect them to high-quality care when it could make the most difference.
Healthcare outcomes
Engaging the highest-risk members with better results
Predict-flagged employees initially had significantly higher pain levels, prescription use, and functional limitations compared to the general population. Through targeted outreach and personalized care, the company improved healthcare outcomes for this hard-to-reach group.
By engaging these high-risk cohorts early, Sword was able to deliver the care they needed before more costly medical interventions were required. The cost savings from Predict were primarily driven by lower spend on expensive treatments like surgery and invasive procedures, with additional savings on office visits, imaging, injections, and other forms of therapy that are frequently overprescribed.
35%
fewer spine surgeries²
41.6%
reduction in ancillary services²
7.4%
lower MSK inpatient utilization
10%
fewer MSK-related MRIs
Financial results
Moving from reactive treatment to proactive cost avoidance
Sword Predict helped the company reduce unnecessary surgeries and high-cost utilization. By flagging risk earlier and guiding members to care that works, the company achieved measurable savings while transforming its approach from episodic care to long-term cost control.
$355K
total projected MSK savings¹
$4,128
saved per high-risk member¹
