Upfront is on a mission to guide every patient to the care they need
Our company is committed to supporting healthcare enterprises with innovative, technology-led solutions designed to humanize the patient experience at every point of care.
Our Story
Pursuing innovation to transform the patient experience
The path to Upfront started with a frustrating and familiar family experience. After a close relative of Upfront co-founder, Ben Albert, experienced a stroke, the family found themselves lost in a fragmented healthcare system.
Between emergency visits, readmissions, and confusion around next steps of care, the problem was clear: the family was just one of the millions suffering the consequences of poor care coordination, impeding the road to recovery and optimal health.
Fellow healthcare entrepreneur and partner for over 20 years, Carrie Kozlowski, shared Ben’s frustration and knew there had to be a better way. Motivated by these personal stories, the pair have worked side-by-side at multiple startups focused on fixing healthcare.
Intent on transforming the patient experience and improving the value of healthcare, the long-time partners launched Upfront as a single enterprise technology solution in 2016.
Today, our passionate team of healthcare leaders are dedicated to pursuing innovation to guide every patient to the care they need.
Upfront isn’t some “fly by night,” flashy startup; we’re deeply invested in our mission to develop sustainable, scalable solutions that ease the experience for patients and healthcare operations.
We remain inspired by our clients’ biggest healthcare challenges and fiercely determined to tackle what’s next.
We're just getting started
Ben Albert and Carrie Kozlowski launch Upfront to tackle patient engagement at scale and reimagine the patient experience
Closed seed funding with Echo Health Ventures and leading healthcare angels
Analytics foundation built and initial insights on access optimization and patient retention delivered to first clients
Upfront closes Series A led by Echo Health Ventures, Nashville Capital Network and Hyde Park Venture Partners
First patient communication pilot goes live. Personalized, omnichannel communication identified as the missing link to scale patient activation
Microsite Generator released to provide frictionless, app-less experience
First large health system clients implement Upfront; commercialization efforts begin
Enhance omnichannel communications and broaden multi-lingual support
Implement first Medicare Advantage programs enrolling and activating patients to optimize Star ratings
Upfront offered all COVID-related work pro bono for clients, including flagship equity vaccine program at Hartford HealthCare
Upfront engages over 10M patients to engage, inform, and support the rapidly changing COVID landscape
Upfront raises $11.5 million in Series B funding led by Baird Capital and LRV Health
Bartosch Patient Activation Institute formed to centralize research and optimization to drive healthcare transformation
First patient visit rescheduled through embedded scheduling
Upfront acquires Psychographics leader PatientBond, forming the industry leader in healthcare personalization analytics and patient engagement
Upfront raises $10.5 million Series C funding in an oversubscribed round
Upfront engages 40M patients, and activates over 11M patients across 4000 locations in 2022
Embracing a collaborative spirit
Changing the future of health isn’t something we can do alone. At Upfront, we value the experiences, knowledge, and skillsets of our partners and team members to address access barriers and deliver the industry’s next-generation patient engagement platform. We believe cross-continuum collaboration is the only way to make healthcare better.
My passion has always been around improving the care of those in need with empathy, compassion, and high quality; and my focus always remains singular, the patient. Blending innovative technology and the betterment of healthcare delivery is what drives me every single day. After working with Upfront in my role at Prisma Health, I recognized our shared mission to simplify healthcare for patients, and I seized the opportunity to become part of this team.
Dr. Nick Patel, MD
On his journey from Upfront client to team member
Upfront founder Ben Albert shares his take on healthcare’s biggest challenge
Ben discusses consumerism in healthcare and how it leads patients to higher expectations around personalization, choice, access, and efficiency. The more a provider can understand exactly what service the patient needs and enables the patient to proactively get that service, the more efficient the healthcare system will be at the macro level.
Empower patients
every step of the way
We’re a healthcare company leveraging technology, not the other way around. Upfront leans on its deep healthcare expertise and client relationships to maximize the impact of our technology, delivering a next-generation patient experience.