Back-to-back surgery cancellations one day a few years ago meant Atlanta-based orthopedic surgeon Obi Ugwonali had significant time on his hands. He thought about the disruption cancellations meant for his practice, the industry and patients.
“He had quite a long amount of time to kind of figure out what’s going on. And he was like, ‘Well, why? Why were they canceled?’ One was that a Spanish interpreter didn’t show up. The other was because a neighbor had canceled a ride,” said Ugwonali’s eventual professional associate, Dana Weeks. “And so, for both of those instances, he thought, ‘Well, those are easy things that we can solve.’”
Ugwonali did not find the solution he was looking for when it came to arranging transportation for patients. He and Weeks began working to put together an online platform that would bridge the gap. They launched MedTrans Go in 2018 after testing market viability and finding a partner to build the product.
How the platform works
MedTrans Go is a business-to-business platform that works with hospitals, health care providers and other entities that give care.
Weeks described the concept as “three platforms in one.”
The first platform is for submission of requests. Providers enter information about patients’ needs, and MedTrans Go arranges for sedan, wheelchair and stretcher rides. Those with oxygen and bariatric needs can find accommodations they can’t get with rideshare situations or their own transportation, she said.
Then, the company provides access to a network of nonemergency medical transportation providers, along with ride share and basic life support vehicles. Information that goes into the system goes out to drivers and partners who can match areas of travel and patient needs, Weeks said.
“That concierge goes, basically, couch to couch versus just dropping off at the curb, or if you have dementia, or you have some other unique challenges,” she said. “This captures all that information and then matches you with that safe and reliable network that we have.”
Finally, there’s an administrative portion to the platform, which monitors activity. Users can track drivers, check payments and take appropriate follow-up actions.
Weeks said the company is also working to serve direct-pay users. One avenue for this development is working with hospital care coordinators who can recommend the services to patients.
A fortuitous launch
The timing of the company’s launch was fortuitous as COVID-19 hit shortly after. The crisis shone a light on how transportation challenges affect those who need care, Weeks said.
“We understood the scope of the problem to health care, but we saw COVID. We saw other challenges that amplified and almost validated exactly what we were doing, even more so in the health community,” Weeks said. “And our data really started to show us who is at greater risk of having health care barriers because of the challenges of transportation and interpretation … You are seeing rural communities, older adults, women and generally populations that in some senses overlay some extreme and challenging health problems.”
The company began by serving the metro Atlanta area, and it has now spread throughout Georgia, Weeks said. It’s gone beyond to about 16 other states with its strongest presence in Southeastern states like North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama. It’s filled needs in rural communities where hospital closures have meant a greater call for transportation outside of local communities.
Weeks’ own inspiration for participation in the project came partially from seeing her mother go through cancer treatment over a decade ago. She remembers helping her mom overcome challenges with getting to appointments. Weeks got a firsthand look at how those challenges affect not only patients but those close to them.
“It really gave me insight into, even with family, who has some flexibility in getting there,” she said. “It becomes a significant challenge to getting care, and that access issue is now impacting all of us — for me being in that sandwich generation, as well. You start to understand the gravity of all of this, and especially to aging populations … there are additional barriers and challenges.”
Growth, comfort and dignity
At this point, the platform is growing not only in participation but in presentation. MedTrans Go has already launched a second version, and it’s developing toward a third version to better serve clients. Data has driven the improvements, Weeks said, but a human-centric approach has also factored in significantly.
Although information travels electronically across the platform, she pointed out, humans have to input and receive and interpret it, which requires a range of comfort from professional clients and the patients they serve. Capabilities like tracking help keep those clients comfortable, she said.
Also at the forefront for MedTrans Go is the preservation of dignity, especially for older patients.
“Keeping the dignity and the respect of what people want in your ultimate output is, I think, most important because they deserve it,” she said. “They have lived this life, and there are frustrations, and challenges with just getting old and just not feeling like yourself. But we certainly can, through our solutions.”
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