AMR, Lyft partner to provide non-emergency medical transportation services

Lyft healthcare

American Medical Response (AMR) — which is largest provider of medical transportation in the U.S. — is joining forces with Lyft to provide non-emergency medical transportation services for patients who need a ride from the hospital to their home or to outpatient procedures. This will include technology integration and expansion of the program into all 42 states that AMR operates within.

The partnership supports AMR’s “One Call” service for healthcare systems’ integrated patient transport programs, enabling hospitals and caregivers to arrange any patient transport — from a non-emergency rideshare service to ambulance transport — with a single call or via an online portal.

“Our health plan and health system partners rely upon AMR and our Access2Care subsidiary to effectively manage the non-emergency transportation needs of their members,” Sven Johnson, CEO of Managed Transportation and Integrated Solutions at AMR, said in a statement. “This partnership with Lyft provides an additional transport option for patients who require transportation, but do not need the services of an ambulance or other higher level of care.”

Today many hospitals are challenged to provide and pay for taxi vouchers and other forms of transportation for discharged patients. In addition, missed appointments are a significant driver of cost and delay in outpatient procedures.

Together, AMR and Lyft aim to help hospitals, clinics or health plans request and pay for rides for patients who do not have access to other transportation — ultimately improving outcomes and lowering costs. The Lyft rideshare services are a fraction of the cost of traditional taxis, and Lyft’s platform allows hospitals and others complete visibility into transport spend, removing the risk of abuse associated with poorly tracked paper vouchers.

“We are looking forward to working with American Medical Response as an on-demand transportation partner,” Gyre Renwick, head of healthcare partnerships at Lyft, said in a statement. “This opportunity to extend our services to the healthcare community allows us to align with AMR’s mission of making a difference by caring for people in need.”