Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is now piloting Everseat’s scheduling service to help patients book appointments — and a new deal that Everseat struck with Lyft might also help them get there.

BIDMC is testing Everseat's scheduling service in a handful of practices so far: dermatology, orthopedics, pain management, physical therapy and rehabilitation, Everseat CEO Jeff Peres said.

While there are a number of health tech companies offering apps to schedule doctor appointments, like ZocDoc and Aetna's iTriage, Peres described Everseat as a service that enables patients to "digitally raise their hands" when a provider gets a cancellation.

Peres said there is always a patient nearby who is eager to get an earlier appointment and willing to make it work with their schedule.

Healthcare appointments are Everseat's primary focus, but the company also works with select hair, beauty, and skin businesses in the markets where their healthcare customers operate. Peres and his team believe helping Everseat users book haircuts, manicures and trips to the spa will lead people to use the app more often.  

At the same time, other health systems are looking at innovative ways of helping patients get to care facilities. Hackensack University Medical Center and MedStar Health, for instance, have made arrangements with the care service Uber.

Everseat has raised a total of about $4.5 million to date from its seed round of funding last year, and it has about 22 employees currently. Its angel investors include a number of physicians from around the country as well TEDCO, a seed investment organization created by the state of Maryland to support local entrepreneurs.

Twitter: @mobihealth

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