CommonSpirit Health and LogistiCare Circulation, the largest US tech-enabled manager of non-emergency medical transportation, have partnered with Lyft to improve access to quality care by providing patients with reliable and convenient transportation for non-emergency medical needs.
This new service enables CommonSpirit’s provider community to support patient care and extend healing beyond the four walls of the hospital with on-demand Lyft rides coordinated by LogistiCare Circulation.
For many patients, getting transportation to and from medical facilities for scheduled appointments can be a barrier to treatment and good health. National statistics show 3.6 million patients miss follow-up doctor visits each year due to lack of transportation. For example, a Rand Corp. study found 20 percent of older adults – especially those with chronic illnesses – do not drive and one-third face driving restrictions. When people aren’t able to engage in ongoing care, they may delay diagnoses and existing health conditions may worsen.
To address this need and better serve the needs of diverse communities across the country, patients can conveniently access rides when they are discharged from CommonSpirit’s medical facilities in several states, including California and Arizona. CommonSpirit’s social workers, case managers, and other medical staff request and monitor the progress of rides – either in real-time or advance – to make sure patients get to their destination.
“When our patients aren’t feeling well, the entirety of their interaction with our system – from their provider visit to discharge to their door – affects their experience. By giving our caregivers access to LogistiCare’s ride-ordering platform, we can help our patients get rides within minutes and help give staff the peace of mind that their patient is getting a reliable ride so they can continue to devote their time to providing compassionate care,” said Christine Brocato, system vice president for strategic innovation at CommonSpirit Health. “With Lyft’s proven technology, broad geographic footprint, and passion to help promote health equity among CommonSpirit’s varied populations, we can achieve our shared goal to address the social determinants of health by removing transportation barriers that affect people’s ability to receive care.”
“Reliable transportation is a critical piece of the puzzle when it comes to making sure everyone has access to comprehensive health care, and is core to the work we’re doing here at Lyft,” explained Megan Callahan, VP of Healthcare at Lyft. “We’ve been impressed by CommonSpirit Health and LogistiCare Circulation’s commitment to providing an exceptional patient experience and are excited to extend that by providing a convenient and dependable transportation option to and from care delivery settings as well.”
”With CommonSpirit Health and Lyft, we share a mutual understanding of the impact reliable transportation has in fundamentally improving lives” said Dan Greenleaf, LogistiCare Circulation CEO. “We have been dedicated to empowering patients with better access to health care for decades and are honored to partner with CommonSpirit and Lyft.”
CommonSpirit and Lyft have also agreed to create a Strategic Innovation Taskforce – which will collaborate with LogistiCare Circulation – to co-develop and test new uses for transportation that can alleviate challenges that exist for people seeking access to affordable, quality health care.
CommonSpirit expects to expand transportation services from Lyft and LogistiCare Circulation to serve patients in its other markets in 2020.