Technology has greatly enhanced healthcare accessibility but there is always room for improvement. There are some things that can not be achieved by remote diagnostics by a smartphone as of yet and Uber is looking to solve that problem with new service called Uber Health to help patients get to and from a medical professional whenever they need to.
Uber says the number of missed doctor appointments in the US alone is 3.6 million annually. It aims to take that number way down with Uber Health as transport can be an issue for everyone, all the more so for elderly patients with conditions that greatly limit their mobility.
Uber Health is basically a dashboard that can be used to arrange and manage transport for patients by their healthcare providers. It allows booking trips for both patients and staff up to 30 days in advance and also allows the scheduling of several rides at the same time.
One thing that makes it easy for the patients is that the booking is handled by the providers. This means that people without smartphones can use the service as well. In such cases, the details can be confirmed with the patients using a simple text message or a phone call to a regular mobile phone or a landline.
According to Uber, 100 healthcare providers in the US, including hospitals, rehab centres, and senior care facilities have already been using a beta version of Uber Health and the technology is finally ready for widespread use. It has been made public for everyone to use in the US.
If you live in the US, you can avail the facilities right now. For those of us, who live in other countries, Uber still has to make a comment on when this facility will be made available. All we can do is wait patiently.