Need a Lyft To Your Next Doctors Appointment?

You have probably heard of on-demand transportation companies such as Uber and Lyft. Users download an app, set up an account, and then can request a ride from a nearby driver. Rides once used specifically for personal use (i.e running errands, a ride to work, a night downtown, etc.) are now expanding into the healthcare transportation market.

“We know that over 3.6 million people can’t get the care they need due to a lack of transportation every year — an issue we are uniquely positioned to address through our work with thousands of healthcare organizations,” according to Lyft.

To help overcome this issue, Lyft is teaming up with healthcare organizations in an attempt to improve patient access to care. The on-demand transportation company is working to offer an alternative option for routine medical appointment transportation, for both Medicare and Medicaid insureds.

Sven Johnson, COO of AMR shares, “Lyft quickly grasped the unique nature of medical transports and have become the preferred partner for providing fast, reliable and cost-effective transportation — over 90% of our patients choose Lyft as their transportation provider. Our partnership has reduced complaints by 50% and improved on-time performance. These evolutionary changes continue as we work with Lyft to reduce unnecessary emergency room visits, speed-up hospital discharges and provide same-day access to urgent care and clinic appointments.”

Healthcare companies have the option to customize pick-up and drop-off zones, giving the patients a valet type service, which they believe will help reduce appointment cancelations.

Since 2016, nine top healthcare systems have partnered with Lyft to offer this service to its patients. Patients are also arriving to their appointments in a very timely manner- in fact, the average wait time for a driver has been around 3 minutes!

Like Lyft, Extract sees the value in decreasing wait times and reducing medical costs.