![]() Trips are non-emergency in nature, meaning there is no immediate threat to the health or life of the participant, and no elements of life support are required in the vehicle during the trip.” “Medicaid NEMT or Non-Emergency Medical Transportation is a phrase typically used to describe a transportation benefit for Medicaid or Medicare members that ensures eligible patients can get to and from their medical appointments, the pharmacy, urgent care, or the hospital. In This Article What Is Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT)?Īccording to Veyo, one of the companies providing this sort of transportation: Interested in NEMT? Sign up to get started with Veyo here. Let’s look at what NEMTs are, which companies are providing such transportation and how Uber is trying to do the same. ![]() These companies do business as Non-Emergency Medical Transportation or NEMT. These companies provide rides to and from hospitals, clinics and other medical facilities to patients to make sure patients arrive safely and reliably to their appointments. There’s a new market for rideshare drivers: health and medical transit. Here, senior RSG contributor Paula Gibbins shares more about non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) and how it works for drivers. But for some drivers, it’s a very lucrative driving option. "That doesn't mean that providers shouldn't pursue these opportunities, but they need to consider the risk.Have you ever shown up to pick up your passenger, only to discover they needed to go to the emergency room? For many drivers, this is one of the worst pickups to have. ![]() "The more we use technology, the increased risk is there," Mallon says. If providers decide to work with ride-sharing services, Mallon recommends having a business associate agreement in place that specifies that the provider is the covered entity and the ride-hailing company is the business associate. Providers who are considering using ride-sharing agreements should read up on the OIG guidelines, and do a risk assessment "to decide how this impacts their practice, their patients, what increased risks does it create and is it worth it," Mallon says. "We have seen many savvy hackers making their way into a provider's EMR through a variety of ways." "If providers are linking to Uber platforms from their own electronic medical records is there is some cyber-security risk that would allow hackers to enter the EMR," Mallon says. Mallon doesn't dispute the claim but adds that "we haven't seen enough details to make us comfortable with it." Uber drivers are told only a patient’s name, the pick-up and drop-off addresses, and won't know if a passenger is using Uber Health. Uber Health says it is HIPAA compliant, with safeguards to protect patient confidentiality. But, certainly it is a risk that providers need to consider as they enter this space." "Does that mean it would hold up in court? Maybe not. "If a patient experienced a rogue driver, would they name the provider who coordinated the ride for them in a potential lawsuit? Maybe. For example, who’s liable if a patient is injured in a ride-hailing automobile crash, or assaulted by a driver? "While it is not necessarily a death sentence if the provider doesn't meet each of those elements, the best way providers can protect themselves is to meet those safe harbors that were set forth by the government," she says. It relates to advertising for services, the cost of the transportation, who the transportation targets," she says. "They explicitly state appropriate safeguards that providers can take to mitigate fraud and abuse risk. Last year, the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services issued revised compliance guidelines on ride-hailing services, and Mallon recommends reading them before using the services.
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