Circulation, the Boston-based company that organizes transportation logistics for healthcare providers and their patients, announced on Tuesday an agreement with Partners Healthcare that will bring the Circulation platform to every Partners location.
Partners is one of the region’s largest hospital networks, operating facilities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, including Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
"We're excited to have a strong relationship with a premier hospital system in our own backyard."
“We're excited to have a strong relationship with a premier hospital system in our own backyard," Circulation COO Caitlin Donovan said in an interview. “Our shared goals [with Partners] are to improve patient outcome, serve our communities, and lower costs for healthcare. This collaboration allows Partners to address all those issues by utilizing our platform.”
Circulation is a rideshare exchange that connects people with the the appropriate means of non-emergency transportation to their healthcare providers. These are frequently Lyft or Uber rides, but Circulation also connects wheelchair-accessible vehicles and other more specialized services to those that need it. The company works with care managers who assess patient needs and determine what special requests they might need, Donovan said.
The company, which raised over $10 million in funding, was founded in Boston in 2016 and has since grown to national recognition. It is currently used in over 2,500 facilities in 40 states.
The collaboration with Partners does not represent a significant expansion for Circulation, but rather a continuation of steady growth in a major hub of the healthcare industry.
"What's really wonderful about Boston is that is has both a culture of innovation and a wonderful healthcare community,” Donovan said.
Lack of non-emergency transportation and the prevalence of no-shows is a major issue for health providers and insurers. According to Donovan, 3.6 million Americans miss out on medical care every year because they lack access to transportation, and no-show appointments cost the U.S, health system about $150 billion each year.
Improving the lives of patients is incredibly important, Donovan said. “And our ability to do that in an innovative, cost effective, and simple way is unique and it really makes a difference.”
