Circulation

About Circulation

Circulation operates as a digital transportation platform focused on the Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) market. The company was established in 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts by co-founders Dr. John Brownstein, Leerom Segal, and Robin Heffernan, who also served as the CEO. The business model centers on integrating with healthcare systems, state governments, and managed care organizations to coordinate reliable and efficient transportation for patients to and from their medical appointments. Clients primarily consist of payers, such as those managing Medicaid and Medicare plans, and approximately 3,000 healthcare facilities across 45 states.

The founders brought together expertise from distinct but complementary fields. Dr. John Brownstein is an epidemiologist and Professor at Harvard Medical School, serving as the Chief Innovation Officer at Boston Children's Hospital. His work in public health surveillance and digital epidemiology, including the creation of global surveillance systems like HealthMap, provided a foundation for addressing systemic healthcare challenges like patient transportation. Leerom Segal is a serial entrepreneur who co-founded Klick Health, a major digital marketing and commercialization agency for the life sciences industry. His background in technology and business scaling was instrumental in developing Circulation's platform. This blend of public health insight and technological entrepreneurship aimed to solve the problem of transportation as a barrier to healthcare access.

The company's core product is a HIPAA-compliant digital platform that automates and manages NEMT logistics. It enables various stakeholders—including call centers, caregivers, and patients—to schedule rides, while providing analytics and monitoring for fraud, waste, and abuse. The platform offers a diverse suite of on-demand ride options, ranging from transportation network companies (TNCs) like Lyft, with whom they had a formal agreement, to more specialized services such as door-to-door assistance, wheelchair-accessible vehicles, and stretcher transport. In 2017, Circulation secured a $10.5 million Series A funding round with participation from notable investors including Flare Capital Partners, Humana, and Boston Children's Hospital. A significant milestone occurred in September 2018 when LogistiCare (now Modivcare), the largest manager of NEMT programs in the U.S., announced its acquisition of Circulation. The deal was intended to integrate Circulation's technology across LogistiCare's extensive nationwide operations, enhancing the patient experience and improving efficiency.