Students and the general public can now buy their milk and see a doctor — all in one visit.
Utah’s first quick clinic, located in Dan’s Foods, a grocery store on 3981 S. Wasatch Boulevard, opened in August and has seen a large response — treating more than 600 patients since.
“Most people aren’t expecting to come to a grocery store to find a medical clinic,” said Becky Bingham, the clinic’s marketing coordinator. “This is a completely different concept.”
No insurance is required in order to be seen.
Patrons pay an upfront fee of $35. An additional $15 is added for labs performed such as a urine or throat culture — Matthew Cobb, one of two physicians assistants who run the clinic, insisted that no visit costs more than $50.
“This clinic provides quick, convenient and low-cost care for patients who otherwise would not get treatment,” Cobb said.
The number of patients seen varies from day to day — because its client base depends entirely upon walk-in traffic.
Equipped to treat cough, earache, sore throat, pink eye, urinary tract/bladder infections, seasonal allergies, sinus infections, vomiting/diarrhea and school/sports physicals, the quick clinic’s attraction for patients is its speed and ability to diagnose and provide treatment for irritating ailments that people might not have treated because of how minor the conditions are.
“We are not in any way trying to take the place of primary care,” Cobb said. “We are, however, offering access that is affordable and available to people who need it fast.”
The clinic is not equipped with the ability to perform X-rays or draw blood, but deals with more simple things like the flu, strep, etc. Most of the ailments are things that people want to get seen for but don’t because of cost or time restraint, Cobb said.
The 11th U clinic, its affiliation with the U Hospital also allows patients to have their visits to the quick clinic recorded in their medical records, a feature that most of the country’s quick clinics don’t offer — a bonus for those needing to see a specialist for something potentially serious, Cobb said.
Besides being accessible to the public past primary care facility business hours, (Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-7 p.m. and Sun., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.) the clinic offers patrons the choice to shop in the grocery store if they cannot be seen immediately.
Patients sign in and take a beeper allowing them to shop until it is their turn to be seen — a commodity Bingham praises in our fast-paced world.
“Time is so precious and people have so many things on their lists,” she said. “People have the option of not needing to sit and wait.”