I think just about 100% of patients who come to QuikCare/QuikSurg have an “ER story”. As in, “I cut myself and figured I needed stitches” or “I was miserable after a day of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. I couldn’t get anything to stay down”. In both those situations, you are typically heading for the ER for help but the story that’s often told after the visit is one of frustration at the time spent waiting or the bill received for the services received.
It’s a tale that’s told while receiving care (sewing up the cut or receiving a bag of IV fluid with some nausea medication) at our clinic, a clinic that’s designed to take care of those very situations without the wasted time or big bills. Just last week we saw a man who cut his finger on a handsaw and was in and out of here in 25 minutes with his bill paid before he left ($250) and the next day we treated a dehydrated man who had spent the day previously “going at both ends” with 1,000 cc of fluid, some vitamins, and a med to relieve the nausea. He was a “new man” heading out the door after 45 minutes.
I am a big believer in Emergency Departments. They are normally very effective and efficient when it’s an emergency but if they get swamped with nonemergencies or semi-emergencies, then people wait through a triage process that can frustrate the patient and the medical personnel. ER’s were not meant to handle nonemergencies. There are as many crazy stories about patients “having heartburn for 2 months and then deciding that 2 am is a good time to have something done about it!”
But wait. Have places like QuikCare/QUikSurg always been around? No. Because we are committed to “patient first” medicine, we are constantly raising the bar for great service and respect for your time. I know of no other clinic that offers minor surgical procedures (skin tag removal, earlobe repair, skin cancer excision, skin cyst/abscess removal, wart removal, laceration repair, ingrown toenail removal, splinters removed, etc) and IV therapy and the usual primary care problems (flu, bronchitis, bladder infection, etc) all in one place with minimal waiting! (and we do it all with expertise and kindness)