Uber teams up with start-up Grand Rounds to give big-company employees free rides to the doctor

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Companies are increasingly willing to pay for employees to go to the doctor. Uber is partnering up with Grand Rounds, a start-up that sells into the employer channel, to make it easier.

The Grand Rounds experience with Uber will be different from how consumers normally use the ride-hailing service. Grand Rounds' care coordinators will book the rides while they're on the phone with a member, and let them know that the rides will be free of charge. The idea is to make it easier for those who don't feel comfortable using the Uber app, as well as to increase the likelihood that they'll see a doctor.

The program can also be used to guide patients to better-quality doctors who might further away. Rides can be booked immediately or in the future. Grand Rounds is betting that employers will be happy to cover the cost of a $10 Uber ride to avoid getting a bill down the line for thousands of dollars in imaging that didn't need to be ordered, or worse, an unnecessary surgery.

"We're working the last mile problem here, really," said Grand Rounds' CEO Owen Tripp. "We've already helped identify the highest value provider, book the appointment and now we're making the member gets to appointment safely and on-time." Tripp said his company decided to work with Uber and it had consistently heard that a lot of workers don't go to the doctor because of a lack of transportation. Cost is a factor, he said, but some younger employees might not feel comfortable behind the wheel.

 

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