Uber, the ride-share company that disrupted the taxi industry, is moving into healthcare with a new service called Uber Health that will transport patients to their doctors and to hospital.
This service to gives elderly and frail patients a lift to medical appointments and getting to and from hospital already exists with free taxi vouchers issued through state governments.
Uber Health, which has been operating in the US since 2020, has now become the latest alternative for doctors and medical professional and provides a dashboard to co-ordinate rides for their patients.
Uber says it will protect patient information with a platform designed to secure sensitive information.
The Sydney Morning Herald says privacy experts have concerns about Uber’s ability to keep patient data secure following recent data breaches by Ambulance South Australia and the NDIS.
Uber drivers will not know if their rider has been booked through Uber Health as another way of protecting patient privacy.
And like a regular Uber ride, the passenger gets a message about their driver and an ETA for their pick-up.
Uber says the data from Uber Health trips will be encrypted and only accessible by the medical professionals in support of that patient’s care.
The motivation behind Uber Health has been to provide cost-effective transport for those patients who would have been otherwise unable to their doctor or hospital to receive their care they need.
It has been roundly praised by doctors using the service in the US who say Uber Health helps them stay on schedule, save money using Uber instead of taxis and make it easier to co-ordinate the transport through the dedicated dashboard.
