Introducing Circulation

September 27, 2016 / Global

Today we’re excited to announce our integration with Circulation, the first customizable, patient-centric digital transportation platform that seamlessly integrates with both healthcare systems and Uber’s API. It’s estimated that 3.6 million Americans (including almost one million children) miss medical appointments each year due to transportation issues. Circulation was designed to help improve health outcomes and today’s integration marks a significant step forward in providing access to reliable non-emergency medical transportation.

“The traditional healthcare transportation model is severely outdated,” said John Brownstein, Ph.D., co-founder of Circulation. “Every patient’s experience begins and ends with their ride, which is why the integration of Uber and Circulation offers a smart, digital transportation platform for healthcare that customizes rides around patients’ specific needs and ensures they get the care they deserve.”

HIPAA-compliant to protect patient info

Circulation is more than a ride and is a one-stop, centralized portal that customizes rides around patients’ healthcare needs and preferences. The Circulation platform is secure and compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to protect the privacy and security of patient health information.

By integrating with existing healthcare information systems and Uber, hospital coordinators can schedule and manage on-demand rides that are affordable and tailored around patients — all from one convenient interface. They can update patient information files with transportation scheduling information, ensure physicians, nurses and caregivers are notified when patients arrive for appointments, and receive alerts on Circulation’s centralized multi-patient dashboard — all in real-time.

Growing hospital demand

Circulation is piloting at Boston Children’s Hospital, Mercy Health System’s three acute-care hospitals and all-inclusive care program for the elderly in Pennsylvania, and Nemours Children’s Health System in Wilmington, Delaware, and plans to expand service across six additional states in 2016. Here’s what they are already saying:

“We are confident that Circulation will help us improve access and patient-centered care to acute care and elderly patients across Southeastern Pennsylvania who need help getting to their medical appointments,” said Gary Zimmer, Senior Vice President and CEO, Clinically Integrated Network at Mercy Health System. “Unlike other new offerings that are stand-alone systems to dispatch on-demand vehicles, Circulation’s platform integrates with our internal systems, as well as with ride providers like Uber. It’s much more efficient for our transportation coordinators and allows us to seamlessly orchestrate the ride into the overall patient experience.”

“There’s already much stress and anxiety on the part of families whose young children need regular medical care,” said Dr. Michael Docktor, Pediatric Gastroenterologist at Boston Children’s Hospital. “With Circulation, we can alleviate the added headaches that come along with traffic and parking challenges in a busy city such as Boston and ensure that parents can focus on their children — not the ride to the hospital.”

Ed Woomer, LCSW, Administrator, Patient & Family Services at Nemours Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware said, “We’re excited to be participating in the next evolution of on-demand healthcare transportation with Circulation to provide more reliable, timely and predictable routine healthcare transportation to our young patients and their families. We have an opportunity to make a real difference for children in need of care but who live in rural areas and struggle to make appointments.”

How it works

Circulation starts with secure login and automatic verification of customer health insurance and ride eligibility.
Patient contact and health information is auto-populated into the system from health system records.
Circulation enables hospitals to schedule and manage transportation around patients’ needs and preferences. Scheduling can be done as far in advance as needed and reoccurring appointments can be booked with a simple click to eliminate task duplication.
The platform asks if patients require wheelchair assistance or help getting in/out of a vehicle; if they are hearing/vision impaired; travel with a caregiver; and other important factors to determine the best vehicle selection.
A growing number of vehicle types are available through Circulation, including uberX and uberXL, and in some cities other options are available, such as uberASSIST, uberWAV (wheelchair accessible vehicles) and Uber Car Seat.
Ride reminders and real-time notifications can also be automatically sent to both patients and their caregivers via phone, text or email to enhance communication.
All billing and payment reconciliation is seamlessly handled on the backend of Circulation’s system.
To help mitigate fraud and abuse, Circulation’s utilization performance tracking functionality gives administrators the ability to set triggers and detect suspicious activity.

For hospitals and other healthcare organizations interested in learning more about Circulation and joining the pilot program, please email info@circulation.co. For more information on Circulation, visit Circulation.co.