Uber Health is making inroads into healthcare’s employer market through a new partnership with San Francisco-based employee benefits startup Grand Rounds.
Transportation remains one of the largest barrier to care for patients, with the American Hospital Association estimating that 3.6 million people annually fail to receive medical care because of a lack of transportation options.
Through the startup’s collaboration with the rideshare service, Grand Rounds care coordinators are able to book an Uber to arrange transport for a member to meet their healthcare needs.
Grand Rounds was initially founded in 2011 as a way to help companies reduce healthcare spending by giving employees access to expert second opinions on their medical care.
Since the launch of its Summit platform last year, the company has increasingly focused on care navigation services that are intended to steer members to the most cost-effective modes of care. This relies on physical care coordinators who help guide members over the phone to finding and establishing relationships with high quality in-network providers.
Nupur Srivastava, vice president of product for Grand Rounds, said ridesharing provided an efficient method to overcome what the company identified as a common issue stopping members from receiving care.
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Srivastava underscored that Uber rides aren’t the only transportation option for members and pointed to examples of care coordinators helping members connect with local community resources for additional help or assistance.
She positioned the problem as part and parcel to other familiar barriers to care tackled by the company like financial issues, benefits confusion, time constraints and social obstacles like language barriers.
“Our care coordinators can figure out if a member is ready to see the doctor, but may not be able to get to their appointment because of not having a reliable mode of transportation,” Srivastava said. “We wanted to provide the most convenient option for them to get them to the doctor that doesn’t add any additional headaches or burden.”
While the primary use case for the service is getting to and from a doctor’s office, rides can also be booked for trips to the pharmacy and medical services like physical therapy and lab appointments.
Srivastava said care coordinators also have the ability to consult with clinical staff to potentially book rides for visits outside of clinical care like trips to a fitness center or grocery store.
Another selling point was Uber’s widespread national network of drivers and its increasing focus on the healthcare space. Uber has been steadily building out its presence in healthcare since the launch of its Uber Health vertical last year.
Outside transporting patients to the doctor, the company has also been exploring opportunities like drug and grocery deliveries or helping higher acuity patients with their healthcare needs. Recently, the company signed a deal with Carerisk to provide medical transportation to injured workers.
The partnership with Grand Rounds gives the company more access to the roughly 50 percent of Americans who get health insurance coverage from their employers.
Grand Rounds works more than 120 employer customers like Costco, Target, Comcast and has 4.5 million members on its platform.
While Uber rides for Grand Rounds members are currently limited to those booked by care coordinators. Srivastava said that the company is weighing giving the ability for patients to book their own rides as part of the platform itself.
For example, a high-risk patient using Grand Rounds mobile app to match with a provider could hit a button to call an Uber and schedule a ride to their appointment.
“We know employers and their ecosystem partners play a major role in how individuals access care, whether that comes in the form of employee benefits or time off of work to travel to appointments,” Uber Health head Dan Trigub said in a statement.
“By teaming up with Grand Rounds, our shared capabilities can simplify how members receive high-quality care, ensuring that we help remove transportation barriers and get members to the right place, at the right time.”
Picture: zephy18, Getty Images
