NIH Grant Gives Roundtrip $252K to Study Impacts of Transportation on Opioid use Disorder Treatment
Looking to the opioid use disorder space the National Institutes of Health has given Roundtrip, a software platform for organizing medical transport, a $252,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant in order to look at the impact of transportation on OUD treatment.
Specifically, the study will be zeroing in on appointment show-rates and patient experiences. Roundtrip, the University of Pennsylvania, Lyft and Contra Costa Health services are joining forces to conduct the study, which will predominantly use Lyft’s ride-sharing services to provide the transportation.
Roundtrip software was designed to help healthcare professionals order and coordinate a patients’ medical transport using a pool of available ride providers, whether they be Lyft drivers, facility-owned vehicles, volunteers or otherwise. The platform is available online and as a mobile app, and includes interfaces for providers and patients alike.
In order to be included in the program patients are required to be over the age of 18, be diagnosed with an OUD, report having a difficult time finding transportation, and be enrolled in an outpatient clinical treatment program.
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