Uber Eats on a road in Lisbon
Worldwide vacationers typically have a tough time getting medical recommendation once they’re away from house. Even diagnosing and treating an unexplained rash or a bout of indigestion may be vexing when somebody is overseas.
After all, Within the case of a probably critical medical drawback, vacationers are possible (and will) head to a hospital emergency room. For lesser issues, pressing care clinics are an alternate, though they could be onerous to seek out, have lengthy wait occasions, and will not be a beautiful choice throughout a pandemic.
A brand new “at-home” choice
Diversifying from ride-sharing to meals, grocery, and alcohol supply (and extra), Uber is launching a brand new platform for medical care. Portugal is the primary nation the place vacationers will be capable of use the Uber Eats app to order at-home healthcare, supplied both by way of telehealth or on-site at their lodge or rental property. The service is offered 24/7, 12 months a 12 months.
In keeping with a current report in Medscape, the meals supply platform is looking its new service Medico em Casa (Physician at Residence). Customers can order any one in all three completely different companies—home calls, video consultations, and cellphone consultations—all supplied by basic practitioners.
Priced at roughly $91, $23, and $23, respectively, the medical consultations are supplied by a 3rd get together, Ecco-Salva Medical Services, that makes a speciality of house healthcare. Not but lined by most insurers, customers would possible must pay privately. The service is at present restricted to the Lisbon metro space however the firm hopes to broaden to different massive city facilities in Portugal.
Helpful for vacationers?
Anita Breland and Tom Fakler, intrepid vacationers who write about meals and wine, relocated to Porto, Portugal about six years in the past. They’ve discovered healthcare in Portugal to be of high-quality, readily accessible, and really moderately priced—each for residents and expats—who’re members of the nationwide well being system or who’ve good insurance coverage protection.
“In our six years in Portugal, we now have used the centralized 24-hour telemedicine line when staying in a lodge, and from house to schedule Covid-19 vaccinations and to acquire our EU vaccination e-passports,” says Breland. “We’ve got direct entry to our private physicians, who’ve given us their cellular numbers and have been informed that some medical doctors make home calls.”
Nevertheless, accessing medical care in another country while you’re touring, particularly when you don’t know the language, may be dicey. Breland and Fakler see the brand new Uber Eats Medico em Casa app as probably being a great tool for worldwide vacationers, who might not have data of, or entry to, the national health line (which is in Portuguese).
“This launch is ‘one other large step’ for the platform to go ‘past the assorted restaurant, grocery store, comfort and different retail companies,’” mentioned Diogo Aires Conceição in a press release reported in The Portugal News.