Uberand Lyft both have specific operations in place to provide rides topatients that are covered by third-party payers–Uber has agreementswith more than 1,000 health care organizations.

Uber and Lyft, the tremendously popular ride-hailing servicesthat in recent years have disrupted the taxi business, hope to makebig bucks by providing health care organizations, such as insurers,hospitals or public health programs.

Much of the country's health care spending is focused ondelivering care to people who face transportation challenges. Manyof them, due to advanced age or disabilities, cannot drivethemselves to appointments. They struggle to get to and fromcheck-ups, to pick up prescriptions and to receive other types ofcritical medical care.

Related: Free Uber rides for workers' medical appointments:Should you offer them?

One study estimated that roughly 3.6 million people a year misscritical medical appointments due to transportation challenges.

App-based ride-hailing services, which provide rides on demand,are naturally candidates to help address the issue. That isparticularly true in the many parts of the country that lackreliable public transportation and don't have robust publicservices that provide cheap transportation to those with mobilitychallenges.

Uber and Lyft are part of a growing industry known asNo-nemergency Medical Transportation. In an interview with theWall Street Journal, Dan Trigub, the head ofUber's health care operations, reckons the NMT industry is worth$15 billion.

Uber and Lyft both have specific operations in place to providerides to patients that are covered by third-party payers. Ubertells the WSJ that it has agreements with over 1,000 health careorganizations.

Earlier this year, Lyft became an authorized medical provider inArizona's Medicaid program. The program pays for the company toprovide rides to appointments for Medicaid enrollees.

Those who are most likely to need a ride to the doctor, however,are also the least likely to use ride-hailing apps. The majorityare older patients who don't have smart phones or are unfamiliarwith the digital sharing economy.

In one case study, only 20 percent of the 394 patients at twoprimary care practices who were offered free Lyft rides acceptedthe offer. That rate of missed appointments in that patient groupdid not drop.

Whether or not the business is profitable in the short-term forUber and Lyft, in the long-term the concept will likely provehelpful to many patients. While today's mobility-challengedpatients may not be embrace internet-based care, in the comingyears people will only become more comfortable and reliant onapp-based solutions to health care issues.

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