Upfront Healthcare

Cancer rates are on the rise, and the need for #preventivecare is growing in tandem. But delivering it means overcoming access issues, communicating the importance of evolving and sometimes confusing guidelines, and motivating patients to schedule screenings they may not fully understand.  In this edition of Upfront on the Pulse, Carrie Kozlowski, Michael Schajer, and Paul Prikazsky — three experts on the frontlines of preventive care — weigh in on these challenges and how we can solve them to shape a healthier future for patients.

At SXSW '24, our co-founder and COO Carrie Kozlowski dove into a topic that has far-reaching implications for #patientengagement: Why isn’t healthcare using 97% of the robust data it sits upon? In the months since, our team has spent time in the trenches working alongside #healthcare leaders and providers, giving us a front-row seat to how the industry is (or isn’t) leveraging its data. We’ve seen that although healthcare collects more consumer data than almost any other industry — offering a rich opportunity to transform the patient experience and improve outcomes — systemic challenges get in the way of unlocking its power. In her latest article for HIStalk, Carrie reexamines some of these challenges, from privacy concerns to inefficient tools. The barriers to using this data are real, Carrie argues, but overcoming them is more achievable than the industry may think. Get the full story here: https://lnkd.in/ePDqhmA9

We’re still riding the high from last week’s annual CAB and Upfront Conference! Thank you so much to everyone who attended for contributing to such rich discussions and sharing your perspectives and expertise. We try to keep our client community central to everything we do, but there’s truly no replacement to meeting in person. It’s always illuminating and energizing to hear directly from you — on topics as broad as #healthcareinnovation through AI, patient trust, and pushing the boundaries of population health. We’re letting these conversations fuel us as we dig back into new solutions for #patientengagement and improved care outcomes. Thank you again to all our client partners who attended and a special shout out to our incredible guest speakers Lynn Hanessian, Lauren Logan, Karen Janousek, Drew Albano, Michael Schajer, and Adam Cherrington. We hope to see you all next year!

Exciting news — our Support and Engineering teams are growing! We’re thrilled to welcome two new team members to our Support and Engineering departments, underscoring our commitment to delivering a best-in-class platform and client experience. Lucy Williams joins us as Director of Client Support & Operations, leading our #clientsupport team to help our partners drive health outcomes for their patients. With over 15 years in customer service, including a decade leading support teams across mission-driven tech companies, Lucy is passionate about transforming #healthcare’s status quo through next-generation #digitalhealth technology. She’s excited to apply her expertise to Upfront’s mission, creating #patientengagement tailored for every individual who needs care. Krishna Gujjeti joins us as Application Support Lead, providing swift and effective troubleshooting while strategically managing critical incidents. He brings 14 years of global IT experience, with a special focus on IT efficiency and operational success. Krishna is driven by improving customer satisfaction via tech innovation and management. From all of us at Upfront: welcome, Lucy and Krishna!

This month, the Upfront team is busy attending (and hosting) #healthcare gatherings – come connect with us as we explore #patientengagement and healthcare innovation alongside industry leaders! 💡 KLAS Research Digital Health Investment Symposium, September 10: See COO and co-founder Carrie Kozlowski in a live panel alongside leaders from other leading category solutions, discussing today’s patient engagement landscape and emerging technologies. ☀️ HPN Miami, September 9-11: We’re proud to sponsor Health Partnership Network’s conference this year, bolstering our commitment to help solve healthcare’s hardest problems. Upfront CEO and co-founder Ben Albert, Paul Prikazsky, and Chris Levandowski, MBA will be onsite to share insights on Upfront’s approach to #digitalhealth. 📅 CAB & Upfront Conference, September 17-19: We’re excited to host healthcare execs and team members from our client community during EnVision, Upfront’s third annual Client Advisory Board & Conference. We’ll spend our time together collaborating on strategies to drive patient engagement and healthcare outcomes. 📈 NERUCA Conference, September 22-24: Mike Gianfrancesco and Abbie Ginther will be attending to connect with #urgentcare leaders about driving acquisition and retention amid shifting healthcare consumer expectations. 🤝 AHIP Consumer Experience & Digital Health Forum, September 24-26: Find Scott Yanover, MHA on the conference floor to talk about how behavioral science and next-gen technology are changing patient outreach for the better.   Planning to attend any of this month’s events? Let us know — our team would love to connect.

Hear from our CEO and co-founder Ben Albert as he shares his journey from caregiver to transformational leader and #healthtech innovator on the latest episode of the Category Visionaries Podcast by Front Lines. After encountering frustrating challenges while managing care for a loved one, Ben saw an opportunity to use technology to improve how patients access and receive care. Almost a decade later, this vision has been realized in the form of next-gen #patientengagement — one in which healthcare is a little bit easier to navigate for patients and providers alike. In his conversation with host Brett Stapper, Ben discusses how his experience has fueled Upfront’s trajectory as his second venture in the patient engagement space. They also explore the future of seamless care delivery and how, despite fragmented systems, #healthcare teams might work better together to improve outcomes and the health of the patients they serve. Listen to the episode here: https://lnkd.in/esV3_Uz2

How and where patients receive care is evolving rapidly. Post-COVID, consumer expectations and trust have shifted … and #healthcare is shifting with it. Where #urgentcare was once a way to get on-demand care for one-time issues, patients have now integrated it as a key source of healthcare across multiple episodes of care. Higher utilization has led to greater access — 80% of American adults now live within a 10-minute drive of an urgent care center — and patients are increasingly likely to form long-standing relationships with individual centers. There’s a big business opportunity embedded in this shift. In many ways, urgent care has become one of healthcare’s “front doors,” bringing patients in for immediate care but then converting them to subsequent appointments. With the increased access urgent care offers — along with changing patient sentiment that’s led to primary care gaps — the appetite for return visits is definitely there. The challenge, now, is turning single visits into ongoing partnerships that position urgent care as a vital partner in well-being across the entire care continuum. This requires a new approach — one that doesn’t just attract new patients, but keeps current ones engaged. But how can urgent care, which has traditionally focused on patient acquisition, pivot to encouraging loyalty and repeat visits? And how can individual centers stand out amid the growing competition? Our take: hyper-personalized #patientengagement. Omnichannel, proactive outreach makes every patient feel seen and heard as they move through different episodes of care — all while keeping their urgent care center top-of-mind and building a trusting relationship. And data shows that patients are more likely to interact with content that feels personal to them; which, in turn, increases the likelihood of care participation and retention. From follow-up messages that encourage return visits to campaigns that increase patients’ awareness of available resources, learn more about why personalized outreach should be part of every urgent care center’s engagement strategy: https://lnkd.in/gMuhY_fx

There's still time to vote! Cast yours by Sunday night to see Carrie Kozlowski and Michael Schajer on stage at SXSW '25. Breaking down #healthcare's biggest challenges is what fires us up the most. We're excited to bring our perspective to #SXSW's global community of innovators for the second year in a row — but we can't get there without you. Read more about our panel and sign up to vote below.

We know preventative screenings like #mammograms save lives —  so how do we motivate patients to show up? First, we have to understand why they don’t. Almost a quarter of women over 40 skip their routine mammogram. But it’s an oversimplification to say they’re just procrastinating. A new study from the Annals of Internal Medicine reveals some of the nuanced motivations and hesitations that lead women to delay screenings — such as concern about associated risks, like overdiagnosis or false positives. In fact, women who receive information about potential benefits and risks are more than 2x as likely to postpone their mammograms until their 50s. Many of these women found the potential benefits and harms of mammography surprising, and, after being informed, opted to wait until an older age to start. But these results weren’t universal. Women who wanted to delay screening were at lower breast cancer risk than women who wanted screening at their current age, indicating that women who postponed their screenings understood their risk level and felt comfortable with it. Our takeaway? As we create experiences to drive patients towards actions like preventive screenings, it's critical that we deeply understand and cater to their unique core motivations so we can tailor the message, supporting information, and call-to-action accordingly.  There will always be patients who make decisions that go against the official guidelines. By offering personalized information, providers can help ensure that their choices are safe, informed, and right for them. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/ghr_wfE3

To be onstage at SXSW ‘24 shining the spotlight on healthcare’s hardest data challenges was genuinely humbling. And we’re thrilled to be finalists again this year! Help us get there by VOTING here: https://lnkd.in/gpcFctpX In 2025, we’re asking (and answering) healthcare’s thorniest question — “Who Cares?” As #healthcare shifts and the choices grow seemingly endless (everything from MinuteClinics to Dr. Google), who’s actually responsible for your healthcare? Who ensures continuity and looks out for your best interests? And…do you really need a primary care doctor? Upfront COO and co-founder Carrie Kozlowski and clinician, operational leader, and Upfront advisor Michael Schajer take the audience behind the curtain to get answers and break down how patients can navigate a sometimes-unwinnable feeling system. #SXSW panels are chosen in part by popular vote, so show you’re excited to hear Carrie and Michael speak by casting your vote!