Riding-sharing company Uber unveiled Uber Health, a centralized healthcare
platform that aims to make it easier for providers to assign nonemergency
medical transport (NEMT) for their patients and clients. Hospital admins can
schedule rides for patients to take place immediately, within a few hours, or
up to 30 days in advance. Uber Health also released an API so that
organizations can add the service to their existing patient management
software. Patients will receive alerts via text message, which means they don’t
need to have the Uber app or a smartphone to use the feature. Uber said its
working on a voice service for landlines.
Uber Health aims to
improve the rate of patients turning up to appointments, saving hospital
networks billions.
- About
3.6 million patients miss medical appointments each year because of
transportation barriers, according to the National Academy of Sciences.
The lost revenue from missed appointments could be as much as $150 billion
each year, according to Health Management
Technology.
- Missed
appointments can lead to poor health outcomes and increased emergency
department visits and hospitalizations, placing further strain on
hospitals and emergency response staff. By allowing staff to book
transport in advance, Uber Health could help alleviate this issue.
Uber’s not alone in
the non-emergency medical transport (NEMT), but it's arguably the most
recognizable, which could give it a leg-up over the competition. Rival ride-sharing
company Lyft has also made several forays, including a partnership with Hitch Health. Meanwhile,
other companies, like Veyo, are dedicated NEMT services. A beta version of
the Uber Health platform released in July 2017 is already being used by more
than 100 healthcare organizations in the US.
However, as
ride-sharing companies take a larger role within NEMT, they're likely to face
barriers that could stymie adoption. For example, there is some concern over whether drivers will be
liable for anything that happens to the patient to or from their appointment, according to BuzzFeed. Further, it’s not clear
whether ride-sharing has a positive impact on appointment no-shows, according to a study published in JAMA
Internal Medicine.
Source: Business Insider