Uber Health to add OTC meds, food delivery to its logistics platform

Uber Health announced that payers and providers nationwide may soon be able to use the same platform they already use for non-emergency medical transportation and delivery of prescription and other covered items directly to the patient. Can reach homes.

why it matters

Meals as a medicine programs designed for patients with complex health and social needs may reduce avoidable hospitalizations and emergency room visits.

Uber Health says delivery is especially necessary for homebound patients or those with limited transportation or access to food and health care resources — social determinants of health that impact nutrition-related chronic conditions, such as diabetes, and price -based care.

The company says that 3,000 healthcare organizations are already using Uber Health for transportation to primary care appointments and to access important prescriptions. Uber Health launched its HIPAA-enabled API and dashboard in 2018 to offer logistics services for population health management programs.

Soon, these providers will have access to patient benefit data and eligibility files from payers, allowing them to deploy and leverage covered services.

Supplemental benefits can be difficult to navigate, and it’s a challenge Uber Health aims to address “head-on,” said Caitlin Donovan, global head of Uber Health.

When ordering, coordinators can customize programs for patients’ specific health needs and access Uber’s affiliated grocery and convenience merchants across the country.

big trend

Meals are being tested under the supervision of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as Medicare programs from Medicaid through a framework for health-related social need services under Section 1115s.

In December, CMS hosted a pan-state call and the agenda addressed nutrition support under 1115 demonstrations – three meals per day as well as fruit and vegetable prescriptions and protein boxes given for 6 months according to guidance. eligible under. ,

KFF’s online Medicaid waiver tracker has information on which state’s Medicaid program has been granted a 1115 waiver. Eight states have waivers pending and the Arkansas, Oregon and Massachusetts Medicaid programs currently operate grocery programs.

Home-based care management programs have also been shown to reduce hospital readmission rates, but they are challenged by patients’ SDOH.

Individualized care plans have tremendous potential to improve the health of care super users while reducing readmission rates, said Dr. Amber Inofuentes, medical director of the Medicine Home Program at UVA Health.

This program supports patients with complex medical conditions such as diabetes, substance use disorders, end-stage renal disease and many more.

“The challenge, however, is that many patients with these conditions face significant social challenges such as unsustainable living conditions, food insecurity and lack of transportation,” Inofuentes said.

Melissa Sherry, vice president of social care integration at Unite Us, says that 2023 marks a fundamental change in Medicaid’s role in addressing SDOH technology.

“Instead of its historical focus on clinical care alone, allowing Medicaid to pay for health with underlying, non-clinical drivers transforms the Medicaid programs into a whole person-centered paradigm — And it’s likely to move the needle on health disparities,” she said. Healthcare IT News In December.

On the record

“Value-based care is the future of health care, but it is complex and labor-intensive to deliver and scale up,” Donovan said in a statement.

“Our platform streamlines coordination across multiple benefits – non-emergency medical transportation, prescription delivery and food and over-the-counter drug delivery, empowering payers and providers to support patients beyond the four walls of a medical office Make.”

Andrea Fox is a senior editor for Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.