Fast Company Selects Fare2Care Concept as World Changing Idea
Fare2Care, a futuristic concept to provide more equitable and convenient access to preventative care, has been recognized in Fast Company’s 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards, a program honoring the products, concepts, companies, policies and designs that are pursuing innovation for the good of society and the planet. Fare2Care was selected as a finalist in the Experimental category, where concepts, prototypes or just-launched ideas are honored for their potential to change thinking about an issue.
Fare2Care was developed by a team at SmithGroup to positively impact public health equity through broadening access to preventative care. Team members Satish Atkari, TJ Howells, Kenta Kamei, Stephen Parker and Y Pham developed the Fare2Care solution, supported by advisors Karthik Ramadurai, Erin McNamara, Wayne Barger, George Karidis, Janet Attarian, Heather Chung, Sven Shockey, Kris Lucius and Vlad Torskiy. Fare2Care utilizes existing transit infrastructure to dramatically expand the primary care system by bringing healthcare services to where people are, including reaching into underserved communities.
Primary care focuses on health and well-being and includes preventative health such as vaccinations and education to address the main causes of illness and poor health. The United Nations estimates that primary care can meet 90% of a community’s health needs, yet nearly 50% of insured adults skip primary care and the rate of un- or underinsured forgoing primary care is even higher. This overall healthcare deficit costs the U.S. an estimated $67 billion every year.
Fare2Care is an integrated solution marrying physical "care cars" with a technology platform that streamlines the patient experience. The care cars, comprised of interchangeable and transferable clinical modules, can be attached to mass-transit trains already operating on the thousands of miles of metro rail weaving through urban centers across the United States. This allows transit riders to access care convenient to them and leverage time spent commuting.
Fare2Care also embeds disease detection and containment technologies into metro rail stations, helping to mitigate contagion. Fare2Care can direct unwell transit riders to the care car to check vitals and determine whether a visit to a medical facility is needed, effectively isolating potentially infectious riders.
Read more about this future-forward concept for improving public health and destressing our healthcare system in this article and white paper for download.
Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards is focused on social good, seeking to elevate trailblazing products and concepts that make the world better and solve the problems that affect everyone. Winners and honorees can be found in the Summer 2021 print issue of Fast Company, available next week. To view a complete listing of the awards, visit: https://www.fastcompany.com/90623897/see-34-ingenious-inspirational-winners-of-the-2021-world-changing-ideas-awards