Importance of Transparency When Outsourcing PACE Trips to NEMT

Non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) is a service intended for people with special healthcare needs. One of the sectors in society that badly needs the service is the elderly. 

Most older adults need assistance when it comes to transport, especially for their medical appointments. They are not as strong as they used to be. They shouldn’t be squeezing themselves among dozens of other passengers in the mass transport system or waiting for standard vehicles to pick them up. 

They need NEMT services and specialized vehicles. Fortunately, Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) recognizes this and provides much-needed transport, along with many of their other needs. But often PACE organizations decide to outsource transportation to NEMT providers instead of having their own transportation department. In this situation the importance of transparency comes into place. 

Contents:

• What is PACE?
• How Technology Promotes Transparency
• Why Transparency is Important
• Conclusion

What is PACE?

PACE is a government program that helps provide comprehensive medical and social benefits to the elderly. Many senior citizens are already eligible for Medicare and Medicaid services, and PACE falls under Medicare, which is a federal insurance service. 

PACE doesn’t just provide one type of service. It has an interdisciplinary team of health professionals to ensure beneficiaries get the comprehensive healthcare they need. And an essential part of healthcare is having access to comfortable transportation that can ferry seniors to and from their appointments. 

PACE-certified transportation would be ideal for seniors. It means that NEMT vehicles and services are monitored to ensure seniors are well cared for. 

There are different types of NEMT vehicles, and three of them apply to seniors:

• Ambulatory Transportation - the most basic type of NEMT vehicle for seniors who can walk on their own and don’t need medical equipment to travel. The vehicle has ergonomic seats to keep seniors comfortable. 

• Wheelchair Transportation - as the name implies, the vehicle accommodates seniors on wheelchairs. It has the proper mechanisms to aid passengers when going in and out of the vehicle. 

• Stretcher Medical Transportation - ideal for seniors who are confined to their beds. They need to travel by stretcher, and a specialized NEMT vehicle is required. 

The best NEMT companies have various vehicles to help make seniors as comfortable as possible for their trips to medical clinics. And PACE should have the ability to monitor their beneficiaries. 

How Technology Promotes Transparency

NEMT companies must be transparent when providing PACE transportation to the elderly. The right technology will make this easy. 

For example, RouteGenie is reliable NEMT software with the following features:

• Scheduling 
• Routing
• Dispatching
• Billing

It also has an application for medical transportation passengers that allows customers to schedule, edit, and cancel bookings. More importantly, they track vehicle locations and know pick-up and drop-off times. 

In the case of PACE, the software can allow organizations to distribute and track all trips within the portal. When they outsource transportation to NEMT companies, PACE can track everything in real-time: their location, the time of pickup, the estimated arrival time, and completed drop-offs. They are immediately informed about no-shows or canceled trips. If there are issues that would prevent passengers from completing the booking, the dispatching feature can provide real-time changes.

One of the many challenges with outsourcing to NEMT companies is transparency. Many PACE organizations seek it, but not all NEMT operators can provide it. Software solutions can help with that. 

Modern software for PACE transportation also provides much-needed transparency through its notification system. It delivers notification updates about the vehicle’s current location. By default, PACE will also know where the passenger is. 

Why Transparency is Important

The elderly are prone to be victims of abuse. Many NEMT companies have dashboard cameras or event data recorders in all their vehicles, so family members and institutions like PACE will have peace of mind that all patients are treated well since you have all the trip data and can request information about a certain trip in a certain vehicle. You can request NEMT providers to exclude some vehicles and drivers from serving your members.

RouteGenie provides various transparency features to ensure PACE and its beneficiaries are satisfied with the service. Targeting PACE organizations is also a good opportunity for NEMT operators when starting an NEMT business. By doing so, the company is solidifying its reputation and relationship with PACE from the very beginning. 

Conclusion

NEMT companies make money through Medicaid patients, private-pay patients, and contracts with facilities. They can also partner with local PACE communities to become the official NEMT provider for their beneficiaries. To do that, NEMT companies need to solidify their transparency features and provide safe and reliable services to all who need them.