Sentindo doente (Feeling sick)? Uber Eats is delivering more than pizza and other carry-out cuisine to residents in Lisbon, Portugal. The rideshare service is now providing medical care through a new pilot program called Doctor at Home.
Doctor at Home is included on Uber’s app in the health category and will include three options: a home visit by a primary care physician, a telehealth visit or healthcare advice via a telephone. Uber is making healthcare available through a partnership with medical services company Ecco-Salva Medical Services. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the Lisbon metropolitan area, but could eventually be extended to other parts of Portugal as well.
Although the partnership with Ecco-Salvo now includes clinical services only, the two firms are collaborating on an expansion of services that could include private nursing and physical therapy.
Uber Eats told the Portugal News in a statement that the service is “another giant step for the platform to go beyond the various restaurant, supermarket convenience and other retail services.”
There is no word yet on whether Uber will eventually extend the Doctor at Home pilot to other parts of Europe or the United States.
Growth market for rideshare firms
Rideshare companies increasingly view seniors and the healthcare space as growth opportunities. Uber launched Uber Health, a dashboard that lets healthcare providers book transportation for patients to and from medical visits. Earlier this year, Uber Health partnered with CVS Health to provide transportation to medical appointments for high-risk patients living in five Health Zones. Last fall, It announced a partnership with senior companion company PAPA that will help seniors get to medical appointments, community events and more.
Rideshare firm Lyft has launched a similar service that provides seniors transportation to medical appointments and other activities. The company has also inked deals with healthcare systems and Medicare Advantage plans that provide transportation as a supplemental benefit to members.
