Designing and Monetizing a Lyft Ride Service for Patients Getting to Care

Lyft wants to build a product that makes it easier for patients to get to and from medical care. Design that product, then explain how Lyft would make money from it. ### Clarifying Questions - Which trips are in scope: routine appointments, recurring treatments, hospital discharges, or pharmacy and lab visits? - Should I assume the US, where health plans and Medicaid already pay for some non-emergency medical rides? - Are emergency transport and wheelchair-accessible vehicles in scope, or something Lyft would have to partner for? - Should I assume Lyft already sells rides to healthcare organizations, or treat this as a new product? ### Part 1 — Design the product Pick the patients you would serve first, describe what makes getting to and from care hard for them, and propose what Lyft should build first. ```hint The rider is not always the customer For many medical trips, the person who books the ride, the person who takes it and the organization that pays for it are different parties. Map what each one needs before choosing features. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - A justified target segment and the trips that matter most to it - Pain points across the whole trip, from booking to getting home, including patients without smartphones or with mobility needs - A prioritized first version, with reasons for what waits - Success metrics for patients and for the care providers ### Part 2 — Monetize it Explain who pays for the product, how you would price it, and what could make the business unattractive. ```hint Follow the cost of a missed visit Ask who loses money when a patient misses an appointment or stays in a hospital bed longer than needed, and what they would pay to prevent that. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - The paying customer and the value case made to them - A pricing model with simple unit economics - How the product is sold and fitted into existing healthcare workflows - The main business risks, such as regulation, low reimbursement, long sales cycles and liability ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A buyer in Part 2 that follows from the segment chosen in Part 1 - Use of Lyft's existing assets, such as its driver network and dispatch, instead of building from scratch - Patient safety, accessibility and health-data privacy treated as requirements, not afterthoughts - Metrics that tie rides to care outcomes such as kept appointments, not only to ride volume ### Follow-up Questions - How would you prove to a health system that sponsored rides pay for themselves? - If helping frail patients requires trained drivers, how does that change supply and pricing? - What changes for patients in rural areas with few drivers?