Health Care, Mobility and Collaboration

A lot of this brings to mind something the keynote addressed: how much health care has moved towards treating people by using ongoing therapeutic systems that involve frequent visits for an extended period. All the presenters noted that dialysis and cancer treatments often leave people in a weakened state, where it really isn't feasible for them to drive themselves or take public transportation. In Kansas, it was pointed out, some people are driving themselves home from dialysis but this causes real concern because people who have just undergone these treatments may not always be fit to drive. So in these cases nonemergency transportation really had to be available, and in these rural areas it is difficult to manage. It seemed, across the board, like coordination was the work of time. Transportation providers in rural areas especially had to show that they were reliable and would continue to be available and providing service in the long run before they could really get hospitals and other centers to buy in. And patients in these rural areas, who were unused to the idea of public transportation, needed to be convinced that this really was something they could depend on for these critical treatments. Showing the value of the service couldn't be restricted to quantifying how much money was saved by reducing missed appointments or cancellations, it also had to involve providing a service that really took the worry and trouble out of transportation. And it also meant handling blocking in a productive way: getting patients into appointments in a way that meant they could share rides without making them wait for really extended periods in the facility before or after their appointment and then taking a really long trip home.

American cancer society is very forward thinking in assisting patients, this kind of modeling is great in the face of larger hurdles in transportation.