Some cancer patients and their families may find themselves in a position where they are unable to drive or need assistance getting to their appointments and treatments.
Patients can work directly with the following organizations for transportation support.
The Road to Recovery program provides rides to and from cancer-related medical appointments for patients who otherwise might not be able to get there. They can either coordinate a ride with an American Cancer Society volunteer driver or coordinate a ride with a local partner organization to provide transportation.
Go Go Grandparent turns on demand transportation companies like Lyft or Uber into services that help families take better care of older adults. Available throughout the U.S. Assigned drivers usually arrive within 15 minutes and can take patients up to 100 miles in any direction. Increased cost over that charged by Lyft or Uber.
www.nationalcenterformobilitymanagement.org
The National Volunteer Transportation Center provides a map of the U.S. with various ride/transportation organizations listed by city and town.
www.mercymedical.org/request-assistance
Mercy Medical Angels' ground transportation program ensures travel for low income patients by providing gas cards and commercial bus or Amtrak tickets. (For care over 50 miles away and not exceeding 300 miles).
The Veterans Transportation Service (VTS) provides safe and reliable transportation to Veterans who require assistance traveling to and from VA health care facilities and authorized non-VA health care appointments. VTS also partners with service providers in local communities to serve Veterans’ transportation needs.
In order to use the following resources, you will need to work directly with your physician or insurance carrier.
Lyft Business has partnerships to help members (including commercial, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid) get where they need to go with non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT). Contact your insurance provider or practice to inquire about Lyft Concierge transportation resources.
This “HIPAA compliant technology solution” provides ride-managing services arranged by health care providers, who request, manage and pay for the rides wherever Uber services are available. Uber then contacts the patient. At that point, no further action is required by the health care provider. Riders do not need to have the Uber app or a smartphone. Contact your insurance provider or practice to inquire about Uber Health transportation resources.
UZURV provides ADA and HIPAA compliant adaptive transportation solutions offered through partnerships with city transit agencies and health care organizations, including the American Cancer Society. The provider books the ride, UZURV picks up patients at their door, assisting them each step of the way to arrive safely, comfortably and promptly to the point of care and back home again. Contact your insurance provider or practice to inquire about UZURV transportation resources.
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Disclaimer
There are many organizations to help patients and their families cope with a cancer diagnosis. Although we make every effort to review these sites to ensure they are reputable and include helpful information, providing these links does not constitute an endorsement by ASTRO.