November 18, 2015
Uber and your personal health probabably aren't two things you associate unless you're picked up from a night of drinking and can't hold down your liquor.
Yet the ridesharing service may be trying to change that perception. It's going to be delivering flu shots to 35 cities Thursday, Philadelphia being one of them.
They're only providing the service from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and you'll have to order one of their $10 wellness packages to receive the shot. Here's how it works, according to Uber:
1. Open your Uber app between 11 am and 3 pm
2. Select the ‘UberHEALTH’ option and request. Pro Tip: Please select a suitable indoor location prior to UberHEALTH arriving.
3. Upon arrival, users will receive a wellness pack for $10 and the option to request a flu shot from a registered nurse from Passport Health for up to ten people – at no cost.
4. If you request a shot, the nurse will handle all paperwork and consent forms.
5. We expect demand for UberHEALTH to be high, so your patience is appreciated.
This might not just be an advertising gimmick, according to Market Watch. The company's first health advisor John Brownstein, who is also the director of the Computational Epidemiology Group at Boston Children’s Hospital, told the website Uber is looking into other health opportunities:
UberHealth has previously delivered masks in Singapore due to asthma concerns, given rides to those donating blood and piloted integrations of the Uber app into medical apps. But Brownstein said he sees possibilities such as Uber providing on-demand doctors and nurses, bringing medications to patients or patients to clinical trials.
“When you intersect logistics and on-demand with health care, there are so many opportunities you can conceive of,” Brownstein said in an interview.
Yet as Uber tries to expand its reach into more than just picking people up, it remains the center of controversy. In New York, cab drivers are suing the city for letting the company expand with few burdens and two Pennsylvania judges want to fine Uber $50 million for disregarding state authority.
