See how Upfront erased disparities in breast cancer screenings
OSF HealthCare partnered with Blue Cross Blue Shield to identify a group of 1,200 patients due for a mammogram and located within hardship zip codes considered to have less access to care. The organization then partnered with Upfront to break through access barriers. Learn how Upfront deployed personalized digital communications to reverse the disparity and double the rates of mammogram screenings at the Midwest-based health system.
Partner since
2020
Headquarters
Peoria, IL
Locations
500
Patient base
960k
Upfront Solutions
Retain
The Challenge
Plummeting screening rates
OSF HealthCare is dedicated to ensuring all patients have access to high-quality, preventative care. With an emphasis on early detection and treatment, the healthcare system grew concerned about the lack of completed breast cancer screenings among a target group of patients living in zip codes deemed to have less access to care and its potential impact on health outcomes. OSF leveraged the expertise and technology of Upfront to develop a scaleable intervention to close breast cancer screening care gaps and get patients in for mammograms before they were overdue — preventing deaths and advanced-stage disease.
The Solution
Equity-driven, personalized outreach focused on overcoming unique barriers to care
Upfront worked with OSF to educate, motivate, and navigate patients to return for vital care. Using a multi-pronged intervention approach, Upfront combined its evidence-backed research and technology to identify access barriers and deliver hyper-personalized digital communication to proactively engage target patients and inform them of their breast cancer screening status. These communications included personalized text reminders, digital voice calls from community healthcare workers, and an invitation to a health fair offering on-site mammograms. Upfront additionally used microsites to educate patients about the value of completing preventative screenings with embedded scheduling links to help patients easily set up mammogram appointments. More than half of patients followed the digital pathway to scheduling, maximizing care gap closure.
The Results
52% of patients scheduled for mammograms
During the study period, Upfront helped OSF reach the 1,200 women through its targeted digital outreach program, achieving a mammogram screening rate 3.7% higher compared to patients deemed to have fewer barriers to care, reversing the disparity. Building on the success of its care gap program, OSF extended its partnership with Upfront to proactively communicate with all patients, engaging nearly 45,000 women before they were overdue for their mammograms. This personalized approach resulted in 52% of patients scheduling their mammograms within two weeks of receiving their last personalized nudge. In the process, OSF regained the trust of its patients by creating a positive care experience and improved its overall quality measure performance.
By the numbers
0k
Unique patients contacted over the duration of the program
0%
more patients completed mammograms in hardship zip codes vs control group, reversing the disparity
400k
in operating savings generated
0x
ROI resulting from revenue generated from completed mammograms
We had done some SMS text messaging previously through our EHR vendor, but this was so much more personalized. Upfront was really what I was looking for – to be able to reach out, connect, and drive to action to really get patients the care that they need.
Jennifer Junis
Senior Vice President, OSF OnCall
No challenge is too
impossible to overcome
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