In a new paper published in this month’s issue of Health Affairs, Seth Berkowitz, MD, MPH, and coauthors conducted a mixed-methods evaluation of a nonemergency medical transportation benefit offered to members of a Medicare accountable care organization (ACO), the UNC Health Alliance ACO.
Nonemergency medical transportation benefits, often using smartphone application–based ridesharing services, are increasingly being offered as part of population health management programs.
In a new paper published in this month’s issue of Health Affairs, Seth Berkowitz, MD, MPH, and coauthors conducted a mixed-methods evaluation of a nonemergency medical transportation benefit offered to members of a Medicare accountable care organization (ACO), the UNC Health Alliance ACO. Participants were highly satisfied with the program, reporting that it eased financial burdens and made them feel safer, more empowered, and better able to take control of their health.
Berkowitz, an associate professor in the division of general medicine and clinical epidemiology in the Department of Medicine, is the study’s lead author. Co-authors include Katharine Ball Ricks, a research coordinator in the School of Medicine; Ram Rimal, manager of data science engineering at UNC Health; and Darren A. Dewalt, MD, MPH, John R. and Helen B. Chambliss Distinguished Professor and chief of the division of general medicine.