Columbia, Md.-based MedStar Health has joined forces with ride-booking app Uber to give patients rides to and from healthcare appointments in the greater Washington D.C. area, including northern Virginia and southern Maryland.
Patients accessing MedStar Health's website can click a "Ride with Uber" link, from which they can enter a pickup address and their MedStar Health location destination. Additionally, patients can opt to enter an appointment reminder time and MedStar Health will send the user a reminder for when they need to leave for the appointment.
According to MedStar, patients often cite transportation as a reason for missing or rescheduling appointments.
"Patients expect the same level of seamless integration in healthcare as they do in other aspects of their everyday life," said Michael Ruiz, MedStar vice president and chief digital officer. "MedStar is focused on becoming a premier digital healthcare organization. Our partnership with Uber is but one small step toward a future where technology-enabled patient engagement rivals other industries that have been disrupted by digital technology."
This week, Lyft, another ride-hailing app, also announced a pilot program offering seniors in New York City rides to nonemergency medical appointments through a new partnership with National Medtrans Network, a provider of nonemergency medical transportation.
More articles on health IT:
CMS' Andy Slavitt hints at MU's finale: 6 things to know
While top leaders leave Denver Health, CEO says Epic rollout is under budget and on time
athenahealth CEO Jonathan Bush administers CPR to man suffering heart attack