HANCOCK COUNTY — Sometimes, patients didn’t have a way to get to their doctor’s appointments.
Other times, they’d find a ride to Hancock Regional Hospital but find themselves stranded after their stay — if it came down to it, hospital staff members would give them a ride home.
Hospital leaders say patients without transportation to or from appointments have become numerous enough for Hancock Health to seek free or low-cost transportation options for those in need. The hospital is working with Uber Health, a new service launched in March by the ride-sharing business, to provide transportation to and from hospital or doctor’s appointments, especially for people with Medicare or Medicaid.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryUber Health allows medical staff members to order rides for patients going to and from the care they need, according to the business’s website. Patients can request rides through text message, meaning they don’t have to have a smartphone or the Uber app to use the service.
Coordinators can schedule rides on behalf of patients, caregivers and staff to take place immediately, within a few hours, or up to 30 days in advance, according to the Uber Health website. This allows for transportation to be scheduled for follow-up appointments while still at the healthcare facility; multiple rides can be scheduled and managed at the same time, all from a single dashboard.
Helping lower-income patients get to their appointments is part of a years-long effort by Hancock Health to shift the community’s focus to preventive care, said Hancock Regional Hospital CEO Steve Long. A team of employees including those from patient care, social services and chaplains’ departments is meeting this week to talk about the community’s needs and expectations regarding the service, Long said.
Staff members are working to determine whether rides will be free or discounted, how many patients can use the service per day and when the program will be rolled out, said Sally Carlton, director of health information management and population health at the hospital.
For a hospital or healthcare system to provide transportation services was unheard of in the United States for nearly 50 years, Long said. It was illegal under federal anti-kickback statutes for hospitals to offer transportation to and from their doors because it was considered a way to influence prospective patients to choose one healthcare provider’s services over another.
However, as the American healthcare system moves toward the population health model of preventive care, encouraging Medicare patients to stay healthy through screenings and check-ups, the rules changed regarding transportation, he said.
In 2016, the Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General issued a “final rule” implementing several new safe harbors — or acts that don’t violate the rules — that apply to health centers, according to the Federal Register website. Those safe harbors include one allowing health centers and hospitals to offer low- or no-cost transportation to patients.
Carlton said she envisions Uber Health serving as a supplemental service for patients who can’t use Hancock Area Rural Transit, which is operated by Hancock County Seniors Services. Those would include out-of-county residents or those with appointments on short notice or outside of the transportation system’s hours.
The hospital encourages patients to use HART during its normal hours, Long said. But a need remains for low-cost or free transportation, and creating the hospital’s own transportation department isn’t feasible, said Rob Matt, chief strategy and innovation officer.
“We are thrilled to be looking into such an initiative that can expand upon our transportation options that are already available to our patients,” Carlton said in an email to the Daily Reporter. “We see this as a great addition to our already established transportation options available for our community.”
Transportation shouldn’t be a barrier to patients receiving the care they deserve, Carlton said.
