Okay, maybe not pregnant (but then, why not, given that women in labor do take care to the hospital?
), but Boston-area paratransit will not drop off or pick up at the ER - even though it's simply and solely more convenient to one of my doctors than the main entrance Lyft, on the other hand, had no issue whatsoever driving me there when I was sick
.
This is one of those complex issues which do not respond to simplistic solutions. Sick people need to get to medical treatment. Companies who provide transportation don't want to decline any paying customer.
Governments provide some medical transport services, but unfortunately governments often look at medical transports as a
revenue source rather than a needed service. So there is often a fee -- whether by ambulance or some other transportation option -- and of course, nobody wants to pay.
I wish more governments handled these situations like our local fire departments do. They do not charge for emergency medical response unless the patient is transported -- we have a line item on our taxes specifically to pay for rescue services. If they transport and the patient has medical insurance, an ambulance fee is added to the hospital bill. Whatever the insurance pays is accepted as full payment and the patient pays nothing. Rescue units transport only to hospital ERs, and they go to the closest appropriate facility, so there are no rides to appointments or chauffeur trips to your favorite hospital. As a community, we do not want people reluctant to call for medical help when they need it because they are afraid of the cost.
Transportation companies try to offer services because it is a market opportunity -- and in fact, medical transportation is a large and fast-growing business for rideshare companies. Both companies have partnerships with medical provider groups, and we often get ride requests to take someone to an appointment or back home. For routine patients, those rides are usually not an issue. The rider may require a little more time, may have equipment to manage, etc, but it's usually fine.
The problem arises when the rider is an emergent patient. Emergent patients require qualified medical personnel -- not only at the hospital, but also en route to the hospital -- but in most markets people frequently call for rideshare or taxi because it's cheaper than an ambulance.
There are two problems with emergent riders for rideshare/taxi drivers. One is that there is
enormous civil liability. You are transporting them for compensation, so if your state has a Good Samaritan law it does NOT apply.
And the other problem is that very
few drivers have the training to evaluate a person's medical condition and make a sound decision to transport or not. I'm an EMT; I can make that call with confidence. I don't hesitate to transport very sick patients who are non-emergent, and I don't hesitate to say no if they need rescue. But very few drivers have that background.
This subject comes up very often on driver social media, and I always tell drivers to decline medical rides if they have
any hint that the rider might need emergency assistance.
