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Christel Malden
WOONSOCKET, R.I., Jan. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) today announced a collaboration with Uber Health, Uber's healthcare arm, to provide critical transportation support at no cost to people who need it most when seeking access to medical care, work or educational programs.
The relationship is part of Health Zones, CVS Health's new initiative that provides concentrated local investments designed to reduce health disparities and advance health equity in high-risk communities across the country. Health Zones is an integrated approach to addressing six key social determinants of health: housing, education, access to food, labor, transportation, and health care access. The Health Zones initiative is now active in five markets nationwide: Atlanta, GA; Columbus, OH; Fresno, CA; Hartford, CT; and Phoenix, AZ with plans to expand into more cities later this year. Working with trusted national and local partners, CVS Health is addressing community health care needs, ensuring at-risk communities have access to resources and opportunities that can help them thrive.
CVS Health and Uber Health will help eliminate a critical barrier to care and overall well-being transportation which can limit a person's ability to receive medical care, to get to work or to job trainings and can ultimately lead to adverse health outcomes. Rides with Uber Health will be available to a target population living in three of the five Health Zones: Atlanta, GA; Columbus, OH; and Hartford, CT with plans to enter additional cities later this year.
"Our Health Zones initiative allows us to make a real impact on the health of communities across the country by working closely with organizations that share our commitment to addressing social determinants of health," said Eileen Howard Boone, Senior Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility & Philanthropy and Chief Sustainability Officer, CVS Health. "With the Uber Health platform, we'll provide critical transportation to people within communities who need it most, giving them access to health care services so they can live healthier lives and to jobs and educational programs that can help them reach their full potential."
"We've long known that access to reliable transportation can help address critical gaps in care that often disproportionately affect vulnerable communities. With the past two years of the pandemic only further highlighting today's health inequities, it's more important than ever for communities to have the tools they need to bridge care gaps and achieve better patient and population health outcomes," said Caitlin Donovan, Global Head of Uber Health. "Uber Health is proud to be a part of CVS Health's new Health Zones initiative and encourages community organizations to address transportation as a key social determinant of health, while improving health outcomes in a scalable way."
For Uber Health, the relationship with CVS Health is a natural extension of its broader commitment to improving population health care management, so more people can achieve and maintain healthy lifestyles. Its HIPAA-supported solution is utilized by more than 2,000 health care organizations across the U.S.
Health Zones is part of CVS Health's overall commitment to advance health equity in America. In 2021, CVS Health invested $185 million in affordable housing nationwide and $1.3 billion over the past 20 years. Through these investments, CVS Health has been able to provide underserved communities with quality housing, economic support, and educational training opportunities based on the unique needs of the population.
CVS Health continues to help ensure equitable access to COVID-19 testing and vaccinations across the country. Approximately 40 percent of vaccines have been provided to underserved communities and more than 50 percent of CVS Health's testing sites have also supported these communities.
About CVS Health
CVS Health is the leading health solutions company, delivering care like no one else can. We reach more people and improve the health of communities across America through our local presence, digital channels and approximately 300,000 dedicated colleagues including more than 40,000 physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and nurse practitioners. Wherever and whenever people need us, we help them with their health whether that's managing chronic diseases, staying compliant with their medications, or accessing affordable health and wellness services in the most convenient ways. We help people navigate the health care system and their personal health care by improving access, lowering costs and being a trusted partner for every meaningful moment of health. And we do it all with heart, each and every day. Learn more at www.cvshealth.com.
About Uber Health
Since 2018, Uber Health's HIPAA-supported solution has become the logistics platform of choice for healthcare organizations focused on population health management. From non-emergency medical transportation, nutritional meals to prescription delivery, Uber Health can help connect millions to the care they need. Over 2,000 healthcare organizations like ALC Solutions, Cerner, Boston Medical Center, and ModivCare trust Uber Health to provide access to stress-free transportation for those they care for. By tapping into Uber's logistics expertise, Uber Health's API is able to facilitate everything from mobility solutions to critical deliveries, streamlining population health management and supporting better patient outcomes. For more information, visit uberhealth.com.
Photo and video available via the CVS Health Newsroom are for use only by accredited members of the media. We will permit use of photography and video available via the CVS Health Newsroom by the media as long as the use will not disparage CVS Health nor imply endorsement by CVS Health Newsroom, and the photography cannot be changed or manipulated in any way with the exception of resizing or cropping.
When Uber launches its black car and ride-sharing service in a new, large city, it likes to mark the occasion with a lavish launch party. The company invites the local tech glitterati for craft cocktails, canapes, and a presentation by Uber's brash CEO Travis Kalanick. One of the go-to Uber party tricks for the events is to treat the attendees to Uber's "God View," which lets them see all of the Ubers in a city and the silhouettes of waiting Uber users who have flagged cars. When it's anonymous, it's a cool trick. But Julia Allison, an attendee at a launch party in Chicago in September 2011, says Uber treated guests to Creepy Stalker View, showing them the whereabouts and movements of 30 Uber users in New York in real time. She recognized half of the people listed and texted one of them, entrepreneur Peter Sims, revealing that she knew his current whereabouts. He was pissed when he found out, eventually quitting the service because he felt like he could no longer trust it. His post about being publicly stalked by the company has now gone viral, but Uber refuses to comment, and another two other guests at the event says they don't remember it happening.
This was back in 2011, when a casual disregard for user privacy may still have been cool in some circles. The $18.2-billion car-ordering behemoth was still a scrappy start-up then trying to make a splash; was it desperate enough to chum the waters with its users' private information? Allison says her memory is "not photographic" but that she recalls that Uber showed the whereabouts of about 30 "notable" Uber riders in New York.
But Allison did know where Sims was in real time. Did Uber do it intentionally or was it a slip-up, revealing an Uber "More Powerful God View" admin screen? I followed back up with Allison after hearing from Moog. "In that this was 3 years ago, I don't remember the specifics," she says. "It was flashing between screens. I don't think it was during the main presentation."
The GPS party trick would be an illegal sharing of location information, with Uber breaching its contract with users like Sims. Uber still regularly trots out "God View" at launch parties, but a source familiar with the matter said 'Creepy Stalker View' is not a regular offering. Uber's press team did not respond to a request for comment.
"Much like Gcreep [ed note: the Google engineer who spied on teens' chats] or the OKCupid trends blog, this is another example of the ways individuals at these organizations can freely access and use consumers' personal information for their marketing (or in this case, entertainment) purposes," says Ashkan Soltani, a security technologist. "If a malicious employee at one of these companies wanted to stalk you or simply embarrass you or expose your romantic relationships, they could."
GPS data being used as party confetti seems to be an anomaly, but it's a reminder of the creepiness that comes with a company having a "God View" into your travel patterns. With uber power comes uber responsibility. Users expect that companies won't be completely cavalier with their data. Uber may have (legal) fun offering up an aggregated and anonymous breakdown of which cities have the most users going out to bars and going home with a new friend, but that means Uber also has the power to build an internal list of its sluttiest users. Let's hope that never winds up on a screen at a party. Or at least hope that our names aren't on the list if it does.
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