Thinking outside the box, two area physicians are offering an after-hours, fixed fee, no insurance accepted clinic geared to kids with minor health issues.
Filling a community need founder Dr. Robert Kuhn has heard about from patients for years, Pediatrics After Hours opened in March. With partner Dr. John Gorman, he shares the three-hour shifts on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings. There, they treat coughs, asthma attacks, congestion, earaches and other minor illnesses or minimal injuries in patients ages infant through 12 years old. Anything more serious they can refer to the nearby Munson Medical Center Emergency Room, though this has not yet happened.
"We don't do urgent care, no stitches, no taking things out of your eyeball," said Kuhn, a D.O. who has been practicing in the area nine years. "People come in here saying, 'Oh, thank God you're here because it's a three-hour wait down the street [in the ER.]"
The practice also will perform sports physicals with all services paid for in cash, up front. The offices posts the fees for a visit or one of the few basic tests it offers and conducts on sight, such as a urinalysis. The policy is not to take any insurance, though they will give out receipt — and minimize the cost to consumers.
"We're getting people with insurance, people with no insurance and what we're starting to see more of is HSAs [Health Savings Accounts,] this is perfect for HSAs," said Kuhn. "Instead of a $500 emergency room visit, you have a $35 visit."
Kuhn and his Pediatrics After Hours clinic partner are both board certified in two areas: pediatrics and internal medicine. When combined with their daytime private practice partner, Dr. Walter Meeker, the three are the only doctors in the area with that combination of board certification, Kuhn said.
This dual training and certification provides the Pediatrics After Hours clinic with greater flexibility. While the focus is on kids, the doctors could also see a parent or adult with a minor health issue as well.
The pair plan to add hours as needed to meet demand, with the next target being a Sunday night. They are also considering one day stocking some basic prescriptions, like doctors of previous generations did, to save a trip to the pharmacy with a sick child.
It is all part of the clinic's mission of serving the busy, working parent.
"It's the single moms or dual-income families who pick up their kids from daycare at 6 o'clock and the provider says, 'Oh, by the way, there's a fever,'" said Kuhn. "I feel sorry for the parents who have to take a half day off work the next day to take their child in."
Once Kuhn decided to go for it in December, setting up the office as a separate entity from their daytime practice and equipping the space was straightforward.
"We didn't need much stuff," he observed. "It just shows again all the background noise that doesn't need to be in medicine."
Although business has been slow so far, Kuhn believes the Pediatrics After Hours clinic fills a needed niche in the community, in terms of services, hours and fees. It is something that he has dreamed about doing since his earliest days in medical school.
"If it really was all about the money, I would have just kept my practice open later," he said.
Pediatrics After Hours is located at 201 Madison St. and patients are seen on a walk-in basis. Hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. For more information, call 935-0056.