Most of us are familiar with Lyft or Uber but most of the time we all use it for social outgoings, but have you used it to go to a doctor’s appointment? Transportation to medical appointments is a big factor for most patients. If they are not able to find reliable transportation there, they would either just cancel the appointment or get marked as a no show.
This is important since missing medical appointments can lead to future health problems. Besides being user friendly, Lyft has also made themselves hospital friendly! They are building partnerships with hospitals so that they would be able to schedule a Lyft ride on the patient’s behalf.
Here are a few reasons why Lyft has helped improve healthcare:
- Accessible Care
- 29% of Lyft users use it to go to a medical appointment
- 28% of users would not go if it wasn’t for Lyft
- Preventive care
- Lyft has given patients a hassle-free and accessible way to make their appointments
- Patients will less likely go to urgent care or the emergency room since they are able to see a doctor daily
- Cost Mitigation
- The cost of Lyft vs. an ambulance is astronomically different. Even in built up areas, where parking can be expensive, Lyft vs. using personal transportation can help reduce costs.
- The arrival of a driver at a given time ensures a higher level of commitment from the patient, thus decreasing missed doctor appointments, less gaps in the schedule, smoother flowing operations, etc.
- Safer Roads
- Users will most likely call a Lyft if they are impaired by substances
- They are also able to call a Lyft for minor medical emergencies
Does your hospital already use Lyft to ensure the patients arrival and mitigate the cost of transportation?? If so, we would like to hear from you on the pros and cons of this service.
This article was created by Stephanie Sok, Business Researcher, Global Healthcare IT, Inc. with assistance from the following base line articles: For more on each please click on the link.
Stephanie can be reached on ssok@globalhit.com.
