Uber is looking for ways to use its ride-sharing platform to address the problem of missed medical appointments. The company, through its Uber Health branch, recently teamed up with Carisk Partners, a specialty risk transfer and care coordination provider, to reduce travel complications of getting to the doctor.
In the healthcare world, missed appointments can be a big problem, leading to more adverse health events down the road and high costs to providers. Much of the time, transportation is the cause of missed appointments, giving Uber a way into the space to provide reliable transportation.
“Getting to and from medical appointments can be stressful and expensive, with transportation delays posing a barrier to care that can compromise patient outcomes and impose higher healthcare costs,” Alana Letourneau, MD, MBA, senior vice president of clinical strategy at Carisk, said in a statement. Carisk was formerly known as Concordia Care.
Transportation has also recently come into focus as a key social determinant of health and barrier to care that can have a huge overall cost impact. Over the last few years, more health plans and managed care organizations have focused on addressing these needs, including providing transportation services through services like Uber Health.
On Uber Health, providers can schedule rides through a web-based dashboard. The system also sends text message alerts to users with their trip details, like booking confirmation, driver information, location, time of arrival and the ability to view a web-based map for real-time visibility.
"Their technology allows us to coordinate multiple rides from the web dashboard, making it easy to book, reschedule and get a clear overview of where each rider and driver is with real-time trip status. We can also view and export records to simplify billing,” Joseph Berardo, Jr., CEO of Carisk, said in a statement.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."