Lyft Names New Healthcare Head as the Sector Heats Up

Lyft has elevated Buck Poropatich to serve as the urban mobility company’s new Head of Healthcare.

Previously, he had been the Director of Healthcare Strategy on the company’s Healthcare team, which works with transportation managers, state officials and health insurers to help them incorporate Lyft into their programs as non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT).

According to a statement published by Healthcare Dive, Poropatich has been instrumental in promoting Lyft as an option for patients to book their own rides to and from medical appointments since the company launched the capability in April.

Previously, patients would have to rely on a hospital or social services agency to schedule the ride for them through an ambulance or NEMT company.

The healthcare industry has become a target market for on-demand transportation companies like Lyft and arch-rival Uber, which both have also targeted prescription delivery services as a use case for their fleet of drivers.

Lyft and e-prescription startup ScriptDrop briefly teamed up for a medication delivery service in 2019, while Uber joined forces with the startup in March 2021 to expand its service to 37 states.