By focusing on doing the right things, MTM has created a beautiful thing; An ecosystem of collaborative partnerships, fuelled by innovation, all focused on the same goal— removing community barriers and bringing a whole-person approach to healthcare while doing right by our planet, and its people.
Having experienced immense growth over the last ten years, MTM now runs an estimated 20 million trips per year and is the number one private healthcare transportation provider in the USA, across 32 states. And with good reason.
By remaining unrelentingly focused on its core principles and objectives, MTM has unlocked a whole new level of value for its clients, reducing program costs while increasing satisfaction rates. As Rick Holbrook, CTO at MTM, says, what MTM has built is more like a community of like-minded business partners who are always looking at the bigger picture of improving health outcomes for members.
When you remain focused on the mission rather than a static idea on how you get there, ideas flourish, and innovation prospers. In the end, everyone wins.
Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)
From The World Health Organization (WHO), “Social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power, and resources at global, national and local levels.”
The organization further states, “The social determinants of health are mostly responsible for health inequities – the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries.” Availability of transportation, food insecurity, and inaccessibility of nutritious food choices are examples of SDOH, which MTM hopes to help combat.
“Our real mission as a company is to remove barriers to individuals to access community and resources. But what we really want to do is accommodate people so that getting their health care is easy and cost-effective. That's why we exist.” said President and CEO Alaina Maciá.
MTM is re-imagining healthcare with a value-based business model focused on identifying and removing the SDOH that are the cause of health disparities through a holistic, whole-person approach that drives client value and promotes superior outcomes by focusing on the well-being of members. By expanding into providing services such as meals, groceries, and home modifications, MTM is hoping to further assist those who want to age in place so they can do so safely, happily, and healthily.
These services will also be extended to any individuals who require the resource, whether private pay or Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries. “People want to live a healthy life, but if they don't have access to good quality food, fruits, and vegetables, if they have trip hazards in their home, these things put them at risk and impede their ability to do so. That’s why MTM looks at the whole member experience and what we can do to address social determinants of health.” Maciá said.
Following their commitment to taking a whole-person approach to healthcare, MTM further plans to extend its service. Maciá says, “As the population ages and wants to age in place, we want to transport them where they need to go, but we also want to bring services to them. So we're expanding our platform to allow for meals and grocery, as well as home care coordination and home modifications. Because as people age in place, they need modifications to their homes like turning a tub into a shower, et cetera. And we believe our job is to help people age in place, happy and healthy.”
The Art of Grabbing a Lift
“If the technology works, people are going to adopt. We believe that, and it’s part of our strategy.”- Rick Holbrook, CTO, MTM Inc.
For over twenty years, MTM has collaborated with carefully chosen partners to develop innovative solutions that promote independence, remove barriers, and help connect community resources with the people that need them. By leveraging the capabilities of today’s deep tech and partnering with just the right people, MTM has been able to build a user-friendly digital platform that streamlines workflows. Digitization also avoids the errors and limitations of manual, paper-based processes. And all while increasing the quality of life of members.
MTM has mastered the art of grabbing a lift. MTM Link mimics all the best qualities of Uber and Lyft that make for a user-friendly experience while unburdening users from the hassle of paper-based claims processes and easing scheduling for their network of transportation providers. They even send appointment reminders and monitor app usage to help clients ensure maximum adoption rates and decrease no-shows.
The ‘Where’s My Ride’ feature connects drivers with users and drops a pin to identify a more exact location than an address can provide, highly beneficial at large, multi-building medical facilities. Personal profiles, auto-fill capabilities, appointment reminders, mileage tracking, and electronic gas mileage claim submission all ease the process of arranging for a ride. Credential checks, quality monitoring, and a user rating and complaint system keep members safe, happy, and arriving at their scheduled appointments on time, helping to increase efficiencies.
For less tech-savvy customers or even those who simply prefer human interaction, MTM has fully staffed 24/7 call centers. They have also designed a streamlined digital experience for their network of subcontracted transportation providers, so they can quickly and easily accept, deliver and claim trips.
Driving Client and Partner Success
“The thing about technology is that you can't just throw technology at something and expect it to work. You could be automating a bad practice. So you have to reinvent yourself a little bit. You have to find the right technology and the right partners as well. We look for technologies that enable or open up our platform to be intuitive and easy to use,” said Holbrook.
He goes on to explain, “We spend a lot of time looking for the right partners. We don’t use the ‘P’ word lightly when it comes to our technology partners. We find ones that are flexible, that are open, that allow us to flex the system in whatever manner that makes sense so we can streamline workflows and make life easier for the people who need to leverage our system and so we can deliver on our promises in the best way possible.”
The platform was carefully designed with users at heart to ensure optimal extraction of benefits for all parties, from the end-user to service partners, and is at the forefront of MTMs success.
A digital claims process eliminates the likelihood of errors and speeds up the claims process, which improves cash flow, and safeguards against fraud, waste, and abuse. Driver complaints are investigated and validated through GPS records. MTM is also able to monitor who downloads the app and uses the information to offer assistance and help increase adoption rates.
But the fun doesn’t stop there. As all members have a personal profile and the app downloaded onto a device, they can send out targeted marketing to help clients get a word out. Contract protocols such as two-day notice requirements are built in to ensure compliance. And for their logistical partners, drivers are able to see open orders and route and schedule pickups. MTM also has a dispatch team to ensure last-minute requests are fulfilled and help with any issues.
For their clients, MTM provides a near real-time customizable dashboard that can monitor KPIs and provide decision-makers with real-time data to help drive improvements.
Through their unwavering dedication to delivering the highest quality of service and their ability to develop comprehensive provider networks, they help clients accomplish their objectives while achieving their vision of communities without barriers.
And they do it all while remaining committed to working towards sustainability and fairness for all. “At heart, MTM is a company that cares about community impact, and we feel very strongly about diversity, equity, inclusion, and climate change. And so we take a stand on these positions. We talk about it frequently, both publicly and with our employee base. And we know that our employees are aligned with our mission and our vision. And these are societal commitments to make our community better,” says Maciá.
The proof is in the pudding. MTM boasts an incredibly long list of awards and accolades, but most notably in corporate culture and wellness, aligning with their core values.
As we said in the beginning, by focusing on doing the right things, MTM really has created a beautiful thing.
