ATLANTA — Two doctors from metro Atlanta are planning on opening a drive-thru where patients can get medical care.
As a mother, Heather Kelly craves convenience. Kelly is constantly hauling her teenager to softball practice and sometimes, she has to take them to the hospital.
"You have roomfuls of sick kids and ambulances coming in and out," Kelly said. "It's stressful because your kid is sick or injured. You don't know how long you're going to be there."
A new drive-thru option could help Kelly and others find medical care in a matter of minutes. The idea, spawned 18 months ago by Viral Solutions founders Dr. Ben Lefkove and Ron Sanders, came after an interaction with a patient during the pandemic.
“This is a purpose-built solution of a new and novel way of providing care for folks," Lefkove said. “We realized that there’s actually more that can be done in a drive-thru than just COVID testing. We’re emergency physicians at heart, so anyone, any place any time. We’re here for anybody who needs care.”
Viral Solutions originally tested and vaccinated millions in Georgia. The Atlanta-based founders have now pivoted to provide urgent care in a quicker, more convenient format. The first location on Howell Mill Road is set to open August 1, and there are plans to add four additional locations within the next year.
"This will hopefully help fill that gap," Sanders said. "We’re dedicated to bring this to populations who need this the most, especially with AMC closing most recently. We’ll definitely be targeting that area. We’re removing all those barriers, from the registration process, to the discharge process, even the last part of the process of having to go to the pharmacy to wait an additional two to three hours.”
Sanders said staff members would be able to serve up to 30 patients at a time. Signup, connecting with a doctor and getting medication can take about 15 minutes or so, Lefkove said.
There will even be expanded hours for those having to work late. The drive-thru will accept all kinds of insurance and have payment plans for those who are uninsured. Any cases needing more serious care will be referred to a hospital.
"With this model, we're trying to make it affordable, easily accessible and bring it to the people," Sanders said. "We're trying to meet the patients where they are."
Both Sanders and Lefkove refer to the Hippocratic oath as their motivation, helping patients however they can.
"It’s really a matter of allocating and aligning your resources so you can do things contemporaneously and you don’t create bottlenecks," Lefkove said. "It could be colds, back pain, sinusitis, I think I have the flu, pink eye, ear infections, strep, asthma, medication refill. We have X-ray capability, so if you broke your arm, we can deal with all of that.”
That oath just happened to turn into a matter of convenience for Kelly.
"Any parent is going to do whatever they have to do to get that medical care and the ease of medical care is such an important factor in every family," Kelly said. "Keeping them as comfortable as possible is always so much better for their physical health, as well as your mental health and as well as the parents’ wellbeing and mental health.”