Upfront Healthcare’s collaboration with Prisma Health, which has successfully engaged nearly one million patients, is featured in the latest issue of The Healthcare Administration Leadership & Management (HALM) Journal. Published by the American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL), this journal provides interdisciplinary, results-oriented insights for health professionals focused on population health outcomes. Co-authored by Carrie Kozlowski, Upfront’s Co-Founder and COO, and Dr. Andrew Albano, Chief Medical Officer for Population Health Management at Prisma Health, the article highlights the success of Prisma Health’s patient engagement program. This initiative has activated over 75% of its patient population to complete preventive screenings and refill medications, resulting in $5.9 million in opportunity savings.
As South Carolina’s largest health system and one of the 50 largest in the nation, Prisma Health provides care to approximately 1.5 million patients each year. The organization faces significant challenges, including workforce shortages, staff burnout, delays in preventive screenings, and inconsistent medication adherence that can jeopardize health outcomes. To address these issues, Dr. Andrew Albano discusses in the HALM Journal how Prisma Health partnered with Upfront, a leading digital patient engagement platform, to enhance patient motivation through personalized outreach.
“To effectively improve our value-based care efforts, we needed to establish personal connections with our patients to better meet their individual needs and guide them to the right care resources, while also reducing the administrative burden on our providers,” said Dr. Albano. “Upfront’s technology has yielded positive health outcomes both individually and across the network.”
Since the partnership began in 2020, Prisma Health has utilized Upfront’s digital outreach to engage more patients. The initiative has expanded to facilitate care orchestration in areas such as prescription refills, medication adherence, and preventive care recalls for annual wellness visits, A1C diabetes management, diabetic eye exams, kidney disease screenings, and cancer screenings, as well as routine vaccinations. This automated and personalized outreach has resulted in significant operational and clinical benefits, saving over 392,000 full-time employee hours and activating 50% of previously nonadherent patients to refill their prescriptions.
“Today’s patients want to be recognized as individuals with unique preferences and care needs, and they expect tailored outreach that is easy for them to engage with,” said Carrie Kozlowski, Upfront’s Co-Founder and COO. “Prisma Health demonstrates a commitment to personalized healthcare experiences—from preventive screenings to medication adherence—which positively impacts care quality and performance in value-based care.”
To read the full paper, “Zero-Lift Digital Outreach Program Prioritizes Ongoing Care and Achieves Operating Savings: A Case Study,” click here. For more information about Upfront Healthcare, visit upfronthealthcare.com.
About Prisma Health
Prisma Health is a private nonprofit health company and the largest healthcare organization in South Carolina, employing over 29,000 team members. The system includes 18 acute and specialty hospitals, 2,827 licensed beds, 305 practice sites, and more than 5,500 employed and independent clinicians across its clinically integrated inVio Health Network. Serving nearly 1.5 million unique patients annually, Prisma Health operates within a 21-county area that covers 50% of the state.
