Offering patients a rideshare program to get to their MRI appointments improves their on-time rates, according to a study published August 10 in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
A team led by Dr. Debra Whorms of Harvard University in Boston evaluated the effect of a rideshare program on missed or delayed MRI exams. Out of 7,707 patients scheduled for MRI exams, the study included 151 who used the rideshare service.
Whorms and colleagues found that patients who were older, unemployed, or without insurance were more likely to use the service. It did not decrease the frequency of missed appointments, but it did improve on-time rates.
"Implementation of a rideshare program ... significantly improved timeliness to MRI appointments while assisting at-risk patient populations reporting transportation barriers," the group concluded.
