Dive Brief:

• QuikTrip is looking to potentially expand MedWise, its chain of urgent care clinics, into regions outside its home area of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Antonya Pharr, marketing manager for MedWise, said in an emailed statement.
• The company is exploring Wichita, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, although there is no date set yet as to when the expansion will happen, Pharr said.
• QuikTrip’s growing interest in healthcare shines a light on other retail competitors who’ve launched their own patient care services — a trend that has quietly gained traction over the past decade.

Dive Insight:

QuikTrip debuted its first MedWise urgent care center in fall 2020 in Coweta, Oklahoma, about 30 miles east of downtown Tulsa. Since then, QuikTrip has opened 10 more clinics in the greater Tulsa area. In March 2021, the company said it had plans to have 15 clinics in Tulsa.

Wichita and Kansas City are among the “adjacent regions” QuikTrip is looking to potentially expand MedWise to, Pharr said. QuikTrip currently operates about 40 c-stores in Wichita and 90 in Kansas City.

MedWise was initially created with the idea of offering the same type of customer service and products for patients as QuikTrip does for its c-store customers, Patrick Aguilar, chief medical officer for MedWise, said in the statement.

“We believe that these are the exact characteristics that will help us provide excellent care to patients at MedWise,” he said.

MedWise provides same-day care for non life-threatening injuries and illnesses. Its services include physical exams; vaccinations; testing for COVID-19, influenza, strep and respiratory viruses; X-rays and laboratory procedures; workers’ comp assessments and treatments; and more. Each facility is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. MedWise accepts both walk-in visits and appointments, and also offers an online portal where patients can access their medical records.

Although QuikTrip is an early adopter of healthcare facilities in the c-store industry, the company isn’t the first retailer to expand into patient care. Grocery chain Kroger launched its first Little Clinic urgent care facility in 2009 and now operates more than 200 around the country. In 2019, Walmart launched its in-store clinic business Walmart Health, which now includes about 25 centers in Georgia, Arkansas, Illinois and Florida. Meanwhile, drug-store giants Walgreens and CVS continue to build out their own networks of healthcare facilities and doctors offices.