Uber teams with Circulation to transport patients to doctor appointments
Circulation, a Boston-based startup, aligned with Uber to provide nonemergency transportation for patients in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Delaware, the companies announced Tuesday.
Circulation’s HIPAA-compliant platform will connect Uber with patients, care coordinators and providers. It also integrates with Uber’s API and has been chosen as Uber’s preferred healthcare platform partner.
The partnership is part of Circulation’s pilot program, designed to reduce the number of missed doctor’s appointments for disabled, elderly or low-income patients. According to the announcement, the program will be piloted at Boston Children’s Hospital, Mercy Health System and elderly care program in Pennsylvania and Nemours Children’s Health System in Wilmington, Delaware.
“With Circulation, we can alleviate the added headaches that come along with traffic and parking challenges in a busy city such as Boston and ensure that parents can focus on their children - not the ride to the hospital,” Michael Docktor, MD, pediatric gastroenterologist at Boston Children’s Hospital said in a statement.
The portal allows patients to customize rides around their needs, according to officials. Hospital transportation coordinators can also schedule and manage on-demand rides and update patient data to include transportation scheduling information to notify providers when patients arrive.
Ride notifications can be sent to patients and providers via phone, text or email. Circulation’s platform also has tracking functionality that allows providers to set triggers to detect suspicious activity.
“The traditional healthcare transportation model is severely outdated. Every patient’s experience begins and ends with their ride,” Circulation co-founder John Brownstein said. Uber’s east coast general manager Meghan Joyce added that the partnership brings hospitals “a viable option for modernizing their non-emergency medical transportation and can easily request an Uber when they need one.”
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