Patient Ride-Share Program Aims to Reduce Administrative Burden

Lyft launches an option that enables patients to request rides through a special option in the app.

Lyft is lightening the administrative load for healthcare organizations that use the ride-share program to arrange free rides for patients to medical appointments.

The new Lyft Pass for Healthcare lets eligible patients, health plan members, and Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries initiate their own rides through a special option on the smartphone app.

Cost, location, and compliance controls are set in advance by the participating healthcare organization or plan. In the past, a provider representative arranged the transportation, and ride-share service could be launched directly from within Epic's electronic medical record.

"We’ve automated an important piece of health access that allows patients to be self-sufficient and in control, while allowing our partners to focus on the services they provide, rather than on administrative processes," said Megan Callahan, VP of Lyft Healthcare in a blog posted by the company.

The Pass addresses what Lyft says is "one of the most frequent challenges we hear from our partners: how to put the power of Lyft into the patient’s hand." The enhancement also creates more convenience for patients who sometimes had to arrange rides up to 72 hours in advance.

With the Lyft Pass, the sponsoring healthcare or social services organization shares access with patients through a phone number, code, or direct link. The organization still covers the cost of the ride, while having access to built-in to controls that enable budget management and ensure compliance.