Could smartphones and ride-sharing apps solve transportation in healthcare?

Patients living in rural, suburban or urban areas with poor infrastructure often don’t have the proper means to get to the doctor’s appointment on time. In extreme cases, they have to wait even for emergency situations so much that they can call an ambulance and receive care in a hospital. Ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft offer non-emergency medical transportation services, while start-ups, such as Circulation or Ride Health also promise to deal with the issue. Could smartphones and networked services solve transportation in healthcare? Why is getting to the doctor such a hassle? Wherever they live, in rural areas or in impoverished urban areas, people face the same issue in getting access to healthcare services: transportation. Some households don’t have a vehicle or share one among multiple family members. Moreover, for those who are disabled, obese or chronically ill, riding the bus or the subway can be a difficult undertaking. John Lewis, CRO of Circulation, a platform that sets up transportation of any kind for patients to ensure they make it to their doctors’ appointment, told The Medical Futurist that “transportation barriers are a leading cause of gaps in healthcare in the US. Each year, around 3.6 million patients miss at least one medical appointment due to lack of access to transportation.” Possible solutions: the US and CHWs Each state in the US has a “non-emergency medical transport” (NEMT) benefit for people...
Source: The Medical Futurist - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Future of Medicine Health Insurance Healthcare Design Telemedicine & Smartphones Hospital patient startup transportation uber lyft ride-hailing medical transportation NEMT Circulation Kaizen Helth Veyo Ambulnz RoundTrip Source Type: blogs