In case you missed it:
The following is a message from Uber:
Whether
it’s helping seniors regain their independence, providing newfound
mobility to those living in underserved areas, or providing a safe
alternative to drinking and driving, Uber has changed the way people
live their lives in ways that were never expected.
Yet,
still, there’s so much more that can be done. We’re unveiling a new
service focused on an issue vital to all of us: health. Every year, 3.6
million Americans miss doctor appointments due to a lack of reliable
transportation.* No-show rates are as high as 30% nationwide.** And
while transportation barriers are common across the general population,
these barriers are greatest for vulnerable populations, including
patients with the highest burden of chronic disease.
Today,
we’re introducing Uber Health as a way to partner with healthcare
organizations to provide reliable, comfortable transportation for
patients. The dashboard allows healthcare professionals to order rides
for patients going to and from the care they need. We are also launching
an Uber Health API to enable easy integrations into existing healthcare
products. Developed with healthcare in mind, new features include:
- Flexible
ride scheduling for patients, caregivers and staff. Coordinators can
schedule rides on behalf of patients, caregivers and staff to take place
immediately, within a few hours, or up to 30 days in advance. This
allows for transportation to be scheduled for follow-up appointments
while still at the healthcare facility. Multiple rides can be scheduled
and managed at the same time, all from a single dashboard.
- Access
for patients without a smartphone. Riders don’t need the Uber app, or
even a smartphone, to get a ride with Uber Health because it’s all done
through text message. We’re even going to be introducing the option for
riders to receive a call with trip details to their mobile phone or
landline instead. For many, their first ever Uber ride will be through
Uber Health, so we’re committed to providing the necessary education
tools that ensure every patient feels comfortable and at ease during
their journey.
- Simple
billing, reporting, and management. Organizations can easily keep track
of what they’re spending on rides. Reporting on requested rides and
viewing monthly billing statements, appointments, and scheduling reports
is simple.
- HIPAA
Compliance. To ensure Uber Health meets HIPAA standards, we have been
working hard to develop, implement, and customize numerous safeguards.
We also worked with Clearwater Compliance, a leading HIPAA compliance
company, to conduct comprehensive risk and compliance assessments. We
are thus pleased to sign Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) with our
healthcare partners.
Over
100 healthcare organizations in the U.S, including hospitals, clinics,
rehab centers, senior care facilities, home care centers, and physical
therapy centers are already using Uber Health as a part of the beta
program, including Adams Clinical, Blood Centers of the Pacific,
Georgetown Home Care, LifeBridge Health, MedStar Health, Manhattan
Women’s Health, NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center, Pro Staff Physical
Therapy, ProActive Work Health Services, Project Open Hand, Renown
Health, Thundermist Health Center and Yale New Haven Health. Healthcare
technology companies like Bracket Global andCollective Health are also
exploring ways that Uber Health can work with their offerings.
“Uber
has helped us drastically reduce appointment cancellations. It’s great
to be able to quickly request a ride with so that in-need patients can
make an appointment they’d otherwise miss. ” – Pete Celano, Director of
Consumer Health Initiatives, MedStar Health
“Coordinating
rides for patients with Uber Health has been incredibly easy. By
allowing us to schedule multiple rides at once we’ve been more
productive and able to focus on the patient experience. Our patients
have been very receptive and enjoy this wonderful service Uber and Pro
Staff Physical Therapy offers.” – Areyls Rodriguez, Receptionist,
Clifton ProStaff
“My
health crisis was a lot to manage. Knowing I had reliable and
comfortable transportation to and from my oncology appointments was one
less burden on a very long list.” – Patient, San Diego, CA
Both our dashboard and API are available publicly starting today everywhere in the U.S. Visit www.uberhealth.com to
learn more about the unique features designed specifically for health.
Keeping our partners and their patients in mind, we’re looking forward
to seeing what’s possible when transportation is no longer a barrier to
care.