Funyuns And Flu Shots? Gas Station Company Ventures Into Urgent Care

By Bram Sable-Smith, KFF Health News TULSA, Okla. — When Lou Ellen Horwitz first learned that a gas station company was going to open a chain of urgent care clinics, she was skeptical. As CEO of the Urgent Care Association, Horwitz knows the industry is booming. Its market size has doubled in 10 years, as patients, particularly younger ones, are drawn to the convenience of the same-day appointments and extended hours offered by the walk-in clinics. “Urgent care is harder than it looks,” Horwitz recalled thinking when the Tulsa-based gas station and convenience store company QuikTrip announced an urgent care venture called MedWise in late 2020.