Uber strikes deal to facilitate health care transportation

Uber Health and Cerner are partnering to make medical appointments easier.

The division of the California-based ride-sharing giant -- with the North Kansas City, Missouri-based billion-dollar healthcare technology company -- are joining forces to help eradicate transportation-related issues for those who are trying to get medical services. Uber Health is "a HIPAA-secure solution that allows healthcare providers, non-emergency medical transportation brokers, and others  . . . to arrange rides for those who need it most."

UBER LAYS OFF ROUGHLY 350 MORE EMPLOYEES IN COST-CUTTING PUSH

As a result of this partnership, healthcare providers will be able to license Uber Health's services -- via Cerner -- to help make it more convenient to get patients to their appointments. Cerner's electronic health records include the health information of approximately 200 million people.

And its agreement with Uber Health will enable these providers to better utilize that information in making medical appointments more accessible to people. That is significant because more than three and a half million people have difficulty getting the healthcare that they need as a result of transportation problems and issues, the companies said in a statement discussing their deal.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

"Joining forces with Cerner marks a new chapter for Uber Health and our mission to provide accessible, efficient transportation for patients and caregivers," said Dan Trigub, Head of Uber Health. "Reliable transportation to and from appointments can help reduce operating costs, patient no-show rates and help improve patient outcomes. Our goal is to simplify the way healthcare providers can access transportation options -- and our work together will accomplish just that."

UBER $5B LOSS LEAVES EXPERTS WONDERING IF IT CAN EVER TURN A PROFIT

"Our work with Uber Health will give health systems more resources to address some of their patient's challenges in accessing the healthcare they need," said John Gresham, Senior Vice President of Health Networks, Cerner. "Building on more than 40 years of healthcare expertise, Cerner is taking on some of the industry's biggest challenges to help improve access to healthcare, create better health outcomes and lower costs for patients and health systems."

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS   

Uber Health's app will soon be able to work in tandem with Cerner's records for healthcare providers in the U.S., wherever Uber is available.