Better Transportation Options Could Bring More Patients to Your Front Door

Ride-sharing pioneer Uber is putting more resources into serving as a healthcare transport provider, recognizing that traditional taxi companies tend to put little effort into picking up patients who they fear could be high maintenance and low tippers. According to a new post on the website Advisory Board, Uber just hired a pair of experts to help them beef up their efforts in this area—one a healthcare consultant and the other a veteran of competitor Lyft’s healthcare team. Uber’s aim for its healthcare business is to assist some 3.6 million Americans who don’t have transportation to medical appointments. Cab drivers are notorious for wanting to avoid pick-ups at healthcare facilities, most likely assuming their fare will need extra attention and time—and that they’ll be bad tippers. Based on anecdotal reports, it seems evident that riders can get picked up at home to be driven to an appointment fairly easily, especially if the driver doesn’t know the destination is a hospital or medical office. Calling for a taxi from the facility is another story, however; cabbies simply don’t want to go to medical buildings, so patients may face inordinate wait times. While it’s possible some Uber and Lyft drivers will feel the same, especially if they have experience as cab drivers, the business and payment model for ride-sharing services may be different enough to make the prospect more appealing. Clearly there’s a large number of patients who need the service and are willing to pay for it, especially if they can pay without fumbling through their pockets when they just want to get home as fast as possible.