Free rides: Patient and clinic benefits in a rural pediatric clinic

In rural Oklahoma, lack of transportation is a significant barrier to health care. Rural patients, who are sicker (CDC), face an even higher burden of illness and disease with decreased access to care. Rural clinics, which are frequently financially fragile, in turn bear the brunt of lost productivity and interrupted workflow due to patients without transportation creating no shows, cancellations, rescheduled appointments, and late arrivals.

The Oklahoma State University Center for Health Systems Innovation (CHSI) partnered with a Rural Oklahoma Network (ROK-Net) pediatric member clinic to innovate and implement a rurally viable model for rural clinics to provide transportation to patients who need a ride to scheduled appointments.

Robust data about volume of transportation need, patient benefits and satisfaction, clinic workflow and financial implications were gathered. Both patients and the clinic benefited from the program. Transportation need was intermittent and by far greatest for sick patients. While all patients in need of transport had SoonerCare, SoonerRide restrictions such as a three day notice required for ride scheduling left patients, mostly sick patients, and patients with inability to predict their need for ride on the day of appointment without a ride to the clinic. Revenue collected for participant care far exceeded the cost of transporting them, creating a model for rural clinic transportation solutions where the clinic itself provides their patients a free ride.