Our Program

Patient-centered contraceptive care is at the core of Upstream’s work. We deliver high-quality training and technical assistance to healthcare providers of all types, including Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), hospital systems, state and local health departments, and Primary Care Providers. All at no cost to our healthcare partners.

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Training

Upstream offers a blended-learning experience that trains health center staff and clinicians how to provide patient-centered contraceptive care. Designed by reproductive health experts, our CME/CE eligible training is an engaging and informative professional development opportunity for the whole patient care team.

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Our Approach

Any patient. Any method. Same day (if they want). Informed by our work with over 100 health centers, Upstream’s pro bono program helps providers adopt clinical and administrative best practices related to contraceptive care. As a result, patients receive patient-centered, comprehensive care and can access their preferred method without unnecessary follow-up visits.

Up to 7.5 CME/CE contact hours
Clinical IUD practicum
Training on immediate postpartum IUD placement available
Patient-centered education techniques, including how to identify and address bias, the history of reproductive coercion in the U.S., and curriculum on serving LGBTQI+ communities
Coaching Skills Training for key team members to support integrating contraceptive counseling techniques into everyday practice
Shared Decision Making model allows patients and providers to make healthcare decisions together

Access to contraceptive protocols that increases single-visit access to all methods
Customized billing and coding guides for financial and clinical staff
Support for integrating pregnancy intention screening questions into care and EMRs
Assistance with contraceptive stocking and supplies
Access to award-winning patient education materials in multiple languages
Patient surveys to understand quality of patient experience
Complimentary access to specialized data partners for unique care delivery insights

Our partnership values

We meet every organization where they are, working together to improve contraceptive care. We tailor aspects of our model to our partners’ needs, making sure that our training and technical assistance is seamlessly integrated into their organizational processes and culture.

We prioritize the patient experience

We meet every partner where they are

We give our partners the resources they need

Our interventions are timely and efficient

We create sustainable results

Our results

Upstream is transforming health care so that the full range of contraceptive options are available to all patients wherever they access care. Our results are timely and sustainable—lasting long after our formal collaboration has ended. The chart below shows how providers at partnering health centers increasingly document patients’ reproductive health goals as part of routine screening.

This chart shows the percentage of unduplicated patients aged 15-44 with a Pregnancy Intention Screening Question (PISQ) response documented in a dedicated EHR field over a 12-month period prior to and following Upstream engagement. Because reporting varied slightly by agency, results are not comparable across agencies.

Data were extracted from agency EHRs and analyzed by a third party

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In all my years as a medical professional, I’ve never encountered a public health initiative that has made such a dramatic impact on practice change in such a short period of time.”
Dr. Karyl Rattay Director, Delaware Division of Public Health

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Where we work

We partner with health centers across the U.S. to ensure all patients have access to their preferredthe birth control method. We have partnered with health centers from Washington to Arizona, Texas, Missouri, Pennsylvania and North Carolina to name a few. Explore some of our state-wide partnerships below:

Our Program

Training

Our Approach