Allscripts inks partnership with Lyft as healthcare ridesharing race heats up

Healthcare IT company Allscripts and rideshare provider Lyft have partnered to provide non-emergency transportation for people who need to get to medical appointments, the companies announced Monday at HIMSS18.

Leveraging Lyft’s proprietary application and Allscripts’ Open platform, they plan to integrate the functionality into Allscripts Sunrise EHR to enable clinicians to order the Lyft service for patients.

“Health IT should always put the patient first and seize every opportunity to help improve patients’ access to care,” Allscripts CEO Paul Black said in a statement.

[Also: Uber offers providers, patients new Uber Health transportation app and dashboard]

By leveraging a Lyft-developed API and Allscripts open platform, the functionally enable clinicians and ancillary staff to order the Lyft service for patients through an automated workflow, he added.

On the day of the appointment, clinicians will receive real-time updates through Sunrise EHR on the progress and ETA of the patient.

As Black sees it, the partnership speaks to Allscripts’ commitment to connecting communities and helping providers deliver the services their patients need.

Today, 3.6 million Americans have transportation issues that prevent them from getting to or from a doctor’s appointment, and 25 percent of lower-income patients have missed or rescheduled appointments due to lack of transportation. Through this partnership, Allscripts and Lyft have the potential to reach millions of Americans, in an effort to eliminate these transportation barriers and improve access to healthcare, the partners said in a statement.

Uber also recently unveiled a new app and text messaging service to get patients to and from doctor’s appointments and the hospital.

A dashboard app allows healthcare professionals to order rides for patients going to and from the care they need. An Uber Health API allows for integration into existing healthcare products, for transportation to be scheduled for follow-up appointments while still at the healthcare facility.