Drive-Thru Health Care: How McDonald's Inspired An Urgent Care Gold Rush

[Meanderer]

The path to owning your own medical practice typically runs through more than a decade of schooling, grinding through medical school, residency and years of specialty training.
Unless you’re Rick Crews. “I knew next to nothing about health care,” says the proud owner of four urgent care clinics in Massachusetts. The former UBS financial advisor isn’t a board-certified physician–he’s a franchisee, one of hundreds who, along with some of the biggest private equity and venture capital firms, are betting that they can use the retail lessons ofMcDonald's MCD -0.8% to turn the health care world upside down.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/brianso...-mcdonalds-inspired-an-urgent-care-gold-rush/

 

[Mirabilis]

I guess it depends on who owns the urgent care clinic and probably what state we are talking about because in Florida I have witnessed very high prices for urgent care. My last 2 patients, one had a $3k bill from ER and one had an $8K bill from the urgent care clinic. They both presented with the same basic problem but the urgent care did ct scans for every region they could think of - the patient was not in a condition that required all that in one day and the benefit was exhausted that same day. Personally I went to an urgent care when my doctor was not available they wanted $200 just to get my name on the list. They told me the doctor would add to that bill after I was seen. All I wanted was a school physical. Most doctors here charge $50-$120 for them. Also, most people will be using insurance when they walk into a hospital so from the bill you see in the list, they will pay only a co-pay and deductible is there is one. Urgent care sees a lot more cash patients.

 

[Vivjen]

We have the first drive through pharmacy in the UK just up the road. It was a converted Macdonalds, who moved next door, and still causes much confusion...

 

[d0ug]

The number one cause of bankruptcy in the US is medical bills. The word cure is no longer used by doctors it is only mange your symptoms.