User:MDnews2u/Immediate Care Wichita

Description
Immediate Care Wichita is an Urgent Care clinic in Wichita, Kansas. The Clinic is the first example (talk) 04:57, 9 October 2008 (UTC) of the independent Urgent Care models found in many other parts of the United States yet until recently have failed to penetrate this region of the country. The Clinic was featured in two separate articles written in the Wichita Eagle in the summer of 2008. First under the "Have You Heard" section written by Carrie Rengers and second in a article written by Andi Atwater which was featured on the front page of the business section. Both articles highlighted the clinic's seemingly unique model, though its services are undoubtedly ubiquitous in the relatively saturated health care environment of South-Central Kansas the offering of its services on a walk-in/non member basis make it somewhat significant.



Unique Services
It is located at 4722 West Kellogg Drive in Wichita Kansas, created to treat medical conditions and illnesses that require timely treatment outside of their doctor's regular office hours, such as coughs and colds, accidents and falls, breathing difficulties, abdominal pain, nausea/vomiting and fever. X-rays, lab work, sports physicals and general check ups are services listed on the Clinic's website as examples of what they offer at the Clinic. The medical director of the clinic states on their website "If patients are uncertain if their condition is an emergency or not, they should not take any chances. Call 911 or head straight for the Emergency Room".

Controversy


Shortly after the clinics opening, the Walgreens pharmacy company brought its popular walk-in clinics to the Wichita area leading the Immediate Care Wichita clinic to reiterate its unique model of providing health care services by a Medical Doctor (M.D. or D.O.). In a three pronged marketing campaign of TV, Radio, and Print. The Immediate Care Wichita clinic attempted to reinforce its model of medical Doctors providing care and not extenders(nurses or P.A.'s). The clinic's attempt to separate itself from the "Retail Clinic" model is significant for numerous reasons which were highlighted in another article written in the Wichita Eagle by Andi Atwater which quoted numerous Local physician's and their concerns about the Walgreen Pharmacy-clinics attempting to treat conditions which the Non-Physician staff may not be qualified to diagnose. Furthermore the article demonstrated an on going debate in the health care community that the Retail Clinics may reduce Costs yet at the risk of interrupting the "medical home" concept of a primary care physician's office.

Immediate Care Wichita's place as the first independent urgent care clinic in Wichita has been challenged by a frequent user of Wikipedia yet there have been two examples/citations stated in support of this clinics lack of affiliation with any hospital system or private medical group. There are three examples of urgent care clinics who are not independent in Wichita Kansas being: The Wichita Clinic-the Largest multispecialty, private medical group in the state of Kansas who created their immediate care clinic strictly for their existing patients. Via Christi immediate care which is a not for profit health system, and West Wichita Family Physicians whose urgent care is also strictly for their existing patients .--MDnews2u (talk) 04:57, 9 October 2008 (UTC)



Founder
The Clinic's Medical Director and Founder Dr. Grover Hershberger holds a Bachelors degree from the University of Houston, a Masters of Public Health from Wichita State University, and graduated from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in 1979.