Lyft desires To assist Seniors Get To clinical Appointments On Time

Lyft mentioned it is already pleasurable 2,500 requests for rides per week by means of its clinical companions.

January 12, 2016

Lyft, an app that permits you to hail a experience with a smartphone, is expanding into a shocking new demographic: senior citizens without smartphones.

the company is partnering with national MedTrans network in NY city to lend a hand senior electorate get to non-emergency clinical appointments on time. In a blog put up, Lyft introduced that it is already satisfying 2,500 requests for rides per week via its scientific partners. The partnership kicked off in November of 2014.

Older american citizens who would not have get entry to to a smartphone (only a quarter of adults ages 65 and older personal them, consistent with a Pew analysis learn about) can still use Lyft’s provider. the corporate’s preliminary set of companions, which contains the nationwide MedTrans community, are actually ready to use a third-celebration website online to request a ride for a passenger through Lyft.

Lyft says it’s making an allowance for including wheelchair-accessible automobiles at some point as it gains extra expertise in the well being care space.

Billy McKee, president of national MedTrans community, said in a commentary that the partnership with Lyft will help cut back prices and cut down on fraud. In 2015, Medicare paid greater than $50 million in potentially fraudulent bills from ambulance companies for rides for seniors. In some instances, a recent record from govt investigators found that Medicare paid for rides that didn’t even occur. technology that accommodates GPS-monitoring would possibly be able to lend a hand.

“Lyft will help by using offering actual-time reporting,” mentioned Lyft’s director of undertaking partnerships Amit Patel. “There can be no ambiguity as as to if a journey was accomplished or now not.”

McKee said the purpose is to shift all of its 25,000 rides per week over to Lyft.

Lyft’s push into scientific services comes just months after rival app Uber announced that it could ship vaccines throughout the flu season.

This story has been up to date.

[photo: Flickr user Ángel Ferreiro]

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