The UpStart: Just what the doctor ordered
His goal: To “rewrite the playbook" on patient transit by improving the number of connections between a rider and the driver. “By getting those folks to the vehicle, they’re getting to their appointment, getting to betterment of health.”
Who he is: Mark Switaj, a former medical technician and founder of Philly-based RoundTrip.
The problem he saw: Nearly 3.6 million Americans miss medical appointments annually because of transportation problems.
Its cause: Many patients – especially the elderly and poor – depend on a Medicaid-brokered ride, SEPTA’s CCT Connect or a lift from a relative, friend, or volunteer from a group such as the American Cancer Society. Sometimes, the ride never comes.
What RoundTrip does: Schedules, dispatches and monitors non-emergency medical transportation – via sedan, wheelchair van, or non-emergency ambulance – in real time for medical organizations coast to coast.
The results so far: The average rate of transportation-related missed medical appointments is 17 percent. With RoundTrip, Switaj says, it’s under 4 percent.
His goal: To “rewrite the playbook" on patient transit by improving the number of connections between a rider and the driver. “By getting those folks to the vehicle, they’re getting to their appointment, getting to betterment of health.”