J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2020;31(3):1457-1470. doi: 10.1353/hpu.2020.0105.
Transportation barriers can limit health care access. This is particularly problematic for patients with chronic medical conditions such as sickle cell disease (SCD) who require frequent medical visits. This study assesses the efficacy of health care-directed rideshare services for overcoming these barriers at an urban pediatric specialty clinic.
A pilot study was conducted at Boston Medical Center's Pediatric Hematology Clinic from January to April 2019. Patients whose caregivers reported transportation difficulties were offered rides. Primary outcomes were no-show rates and cost. Secondary outcomes included timeliness and patient experience.
Implementation of rideshare services led to an 8.5% decrease in the no-show rate among patients with SCD. The intervention cost $2,175 over three months and generated $40,262 in charges. No adverse experiences were reported.
In an urban, underserved pediatric hematology clinic, the use of rideshare services is a feasible and relatively low-cost strategy for improving health care access.
交通障碍可能会限制获得医疗保健的机会。对于患有镰状细胞病（SCD）等慢性疾病的患者来说，这是一个特别成问题的问题，因为他们需要经常就医。本研究评估了医疗保健导向的拼车服务在城市儿科专科诊所克服这些障碍的效果。
这项试点研究于 2019 年 1 月至 4 月在波士顿医疗中心的儿科血液科诊所进行。为那些报告交通困难的照顾者提供乘车服务。主要结果是未出现率和成本。次要结果包括及时性和患者体验。
拼车服务的实施使 SCD 患者的未出现率降低了 8.5%。该干预措施在三个月内花费了 2175 美元，并产生了 40262 美元的费用。没有报告不良体验。
在城市中服务不足的儿科血液科诊所，使用拼车服务是一种可行且相对低成本的策略，可以改善医疗保健的获取。
