The company’s patient activation technology, combined with PatientBond’s proven psychographic segmentation, will create a single enterprise solution to tackle healthcare’s “one size fits all” approach with personalized patient communication
Patient engagement and access platform Upfront announced today the acquisition of PatientBond, the leader in consumer science for healthcare, creating a single enterprise technology solution to drive patient acquisition and loyalty.
Upfront’s pioneering technology ensures every patient completes necessary care. Since 2016, the company has supported millions of patients through its market-leading digital platform, now serving more than 4,000 locations. With many health systems focused on capturing the ‘digital front door,’ Upfront now extends well beyond that position by engaging, guiding, and activating patients from their first interaction across the entire continuum of care.
PatientBond has a substantial presence in urgent care, payer, and life sciences networks, a benefit that pushes Upfront to the forefront of patient navigation innovation across the entire healthcare industry.
This powerful strategic union is a result of Upfront’s commitment to tackling healthcare’s mounting challenges around technology fragmentation, a complex friction point for health systems as providers are overburdened and patients fall between the cracks due to siloed communication.
Currently, 72 percent of consumers indicated that technology is important for managing their health, yet patient engagement levels remain staggeringly low.
Driven by consumers’ desire for personalized healthcare journeys, patients increasingly expect providers to deliver the same digital touchpoints and user-friendly navigation they experience in other industries. In turn, provider organizations are scrambling to find cohesive digital health solutions to attract and retain patients, supporting their ongoing healthcare journeys.
Upfront’s acquisition of PatientBond includes the company’s exhaustively proven healthcare-centric psychographic segmentation model, built through more than 100 million data points collected from proprietary market research, enabling Upfront to accelerate patient activation capabilities through proactive and personalized communications.
Psychographics incorporate people’s attitudes, personalities, and lifestyles to determine their motivations and communications preferences. The method was first developed as a tool of market research and driven by CPG brands.
The acquisition accelerates Upfront’s delivery of their next-generation personalization platform. Combined with Upfront’s omnichannel communications capabilities, PatientBond’s robust consumer insights build and expand loyal patient-provider relationships to influence positive behavioral changes, resulting in improved patient acquisition, retention, and experience.
“We are two like-minded companies relentlessly committed to enabling all patients to get the care that they need,” said Ben Albert, CEO and co-founder of Upfront. “The provider landscape is changing and access is getting more difficult and confusing for patients. Together we will not only strengthen our clients’ abilities to attract new patients but also simplify access by proactively engaging and guiding all patients to ultimately improve long-term loyalty.”
By understanding how a patient prefers to communicate, healthcare organizations can determine the best route to meet the needs of patients and influence consumer behaviors, said PatientBond CEO Justin Dearborn, who will continue in a leadership role on Upfront’s board of directors.
“Healthcare providers can no longer utilize a ‘one size fits all’ approach to consumer health,” Dearborn added. “Personalized engagement requires a deep understanding of patients’ motivations and preferred communication channels. We’re not only enhancing member and patient experiences but ultimately empowering patient success. We couldn’t be more thrilled to join Upfront in their mission to change our industry.”
With its strong growth and financial position, the continued expansion of Upfront’s leadership and operations teams is central to its growth strategy. Today, more than 200 Upfront employees are committed to advancing the company’s mission to drive patient success and maximize health outcomes.
Joshua Klein of Neal Gerber Eisenberg, LLP acted as legal counsel to Upfront.
Visit AITechPark for cutting-edge Tech Trends around AI, ML, Cybersecurity, along with AITech News, and timely updates from industry professionals!
