Carle Health wanted to modernize patient engagement, reduce communication delays and improve care access while optimizing system-wide efficiency.
To achieve those outcomes, it partnered with Microsoft, implementing Dynamics 365 Customer Insights and Cloud for Healthcare to personalize outreach and unify data.
Leveraging Microsoft solutions, Carle Health achieves an 87% patient response rate, increases diagnostic revenue and expects to exceed $8M in cost savings system-wide.
Carle Health is an integrated healthcare system based in Urbana, Illinois. With a unique structure that brings together clinical care, research and education, Carle Health is committed to offering services that are accessible, connected and high-quality. Driven by a mission to be the trusted partner in every healthcare decision, organization is reimagining how it communicates with patients, creating new ways for engagement.
At Carle Health, great service goes beyond clinical excellence, it’s about forging lasting relationships with the people it serves.
“Our aim is to provide exceptional care to the communities, meet their needs in a timely manner and ultimately improve health in the long run,” says Suzanne Sampson, Senior Vice President, Transformation Services Division at Carle Health. “And in order to do those things, we have to maintain dynamic engagement with our patients.”
As healthcare advances, Carle Health recognizes that traditional communication methods no longer match the speed and flexibility of modern life. To stay connected, the organization decided to reshape the way it operates.
“Healthcare doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all audience,” says Tara Strack, Executive Director of Transformation Services at Carle Health. “To ensure we serve at our best, we need to continually evolve.”
For Carle Health, that evolution began with improving its communication strategy, making it more personalized and more aligned with what patients need.
“Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights and Cloud for Healthcare give us the opportunity to build a brand-new data set. We thread it together with clinical data and create a truly holistic system.”
Taylor Craig, Director of Enterprise Digital Solutions, Carle Health
87% SMS response rate (up from 30%)
To truly modernize patient engagement, Carle Health needed more than a new tool. It was looking for a platform that could support its mission, protect sensitive health data to meet regulatory requirements and manage third-party risk, simplify operations and scale results across the organization. This vision led to its already trusted partner – Microsoft.
“We chose Microsoft because it has the breadth and depth of what we need,” says Suzanne Sampson. “It’s relatively easy to deploy and scale.”
Working closely with Microsoft and leveraging Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights, powered by Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, Carle Health gains a platform that does it all: unifies data, segments audiences, orchestrates real-time messaging and tracks performance across channels.
“Microsoft brings a lot of resources to the table to help us get that moving,” says Rick Rinehart, Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Carle Health. “It just makes everything leaner and easier.”
“Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights and Cloud for Healthcare give us the opportunity to build a brand-new data set,” adds Taylor Craig, Director of Enterprise Digital Solutions at Carle Health. “We thread it together with clinical data and create a truly holistic system.”
40% increase in scheduling volume
Carle Health’s first step with Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Cloud for Healthcare focused on imaging outreach, specifically high-priority Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) appointments. Using automated SMS campaigns, Carle Health now delivers timely, personalized reminders with direct links for scheduling.
“We’re lowering the barriers to interacting with us,” emphasizes Suzanne Sampson.
The result is a breakthrough in access and engagement:
40% increase in scheduling volume after launch
87% response rate to SMS campaigns – up from 30% with previous ways of engagement
Patients appreciate the change and simplicity. For those who work nights or live far away, digital self-scheduling means fewer missed appointments and more control over their care journey.
“Sometimes you’re waiting on critical diagnostics like cancer testing,” explains Suzanne. “Every week of delay can matter. The easier we make it for patients to schedule and follow through, the better the care.”
“We were able to reach nearly 860 patients through SMS text messages, which had a direct and significant impact on diagnostic revenue.”
Tara Strack, Executive Director of Transformation Services, Carle Health
Carle Health’s investment in Microsoft brings measurable financial returns, both in new revenue generation and cost savings.
“We were able to reach nearly 860 patients through SMS text messages, which had a direct and significant impact on diagnostic revenue,” confirms Tara Strack.
At the same time, Carle Health streamlines its technology environment, replacing 10 legacy systems with Microsoft solutions. The move eliminates redundant tools, reduces overhead and contributes to a broader cost-saving initiative.
“Our commitment to the board was to save $8 million,” enthuses Rick Rinehart. “We’re probably going to exceed that.”
Together, these gains create financial headroom that Carle can reinvest into its people, systems and most importantly patient care.
“Microsoft brings a lot of resources to the table to help us get that moving. It just makes everything leaner and easier.”
Rick Rinehart, Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Carle Health
The value extends well beyond financial impact, it redefines how teams work.
With the ability to monitor campaign performance, adjust outreach based on real-time data, and scale what works, Carle Health creates a more agile, responsive communication model. Schedulers no longer spend hours chasing down patients or playing phone tag. Instead, patients are already engaged, reaching out at times that work best for them and often ready to schedule on the spot.
“Schedulers are working more efficiently,” confirms Tara Strack. “They’re scheduling more appointments per hour”.
As digital tools take over the heavy lifting, Carle Health teams have more time to focus on what they do best: supporting patients with compassion, clarity and care.
“The text campaign truly drives a lot of calls and still does to this day,” says Ryan Morris, Imaging Director at Carle Health. “We send texts for all new exams in the queues daily, 350 per day max at one point.”
“Microsoft empowers us to dynamically communicate, reduce barriers and give patients the autonomy they deserve in their care journey.”
Suzanne Sampson, Senior Vice President, Transformation Services Division, Carle Health
With early success in hand, Carle Health is moving forward, expanding outreach to more regions and services, from mammograms and lab follow-ups to Hemoglobin A1C testing and preventive care reminders.
Carle Health aims to continue building more personalized message paths based on patient behavior, so outreach feels relevant and never overwhelming. Using Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare as a central coordinator, the organization is going to reduce message fatigue, adapt to individual channel preferences and make every touchpoint count.
“We’re hopeful this time next year, we’ll understand who’s fully digital and who prefers a phone call,” adds Tara Strack. “And we’ll meet them there.”
The long-term vision is bold: a fully connected ecosystem where schedulers, clinicians, care managers and service teams all work with shared visibility and purpose.
“We want to be the trusted healthcare partner for our communities, and that means meeting patients where they are,” concludes Suzanne Sampson. “Microsoft empowers us to dynamically communicate, reduce barriers and give patients the autonomy they deserve in their care journey.”
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