Ride Health Taps Uber To Expand Medical Transportation

Healthcare transportation companies Ride Health and Uber Health have teamed up on non-emergency medical transportation to expand options for people seeking an easier way to get to their medical appointments, Ride Health announced on Tuesday (Jan. 21).

Transportation issues are a big reason that people miss medical appointments, and this affects 3.6 million Americans, according to the National Academy of Sciences.

Studies show that missed appointments cost more than $150 billion a year. Especially affected are people with disabilities, elderly people and those who live in low-income areas. Such people often live alone and are isolated socially due to several factors, including lack of a vehicle and no nearby public transportation.

The two companies want to address these problems by making it more accessible for people to get medical transportation. Ride Health has a web-based transportation enabling platform that’s also mobile-enabled. It covers everything from taxis to wheelchair-accessible vehicles (WAV), and even ambulances.

Uber Health has a reliable network of drivers to move patients between home and hospitals, clinics, rehab centers, senior care facilities, home care centers and physical therapy centers, the announcement said.

“We are proud to team up with Uber Health, which is respected across the healthcare industry not only for its network strength but also for its success in promoting rider safety, its HIPAA controls, and for preventing fraud,” said Imran Cronk, CEO and founder of Ride Health. “Our health system and health plan customers appreciate the added flexibility that Uber Health brings to our network via its WAV and UberAssist products, which helps provide assistance to seniors and people with disabilities.”

Ride Health works with dispatch, clinical and customer relationship management systems to allow for driver support that includes data-driven performance management.

“Reliable and efficient non-emergency medical transportation is essential to improving health outcomes. We are pleased to partner with Ride Health to continue increasing access to care for all communities, but especially our most underserved,” said Dan Trigub, head of Uber Health.