Holly Springs, NC -- (SBWire) -- 09/09/2011 --One ER doc’s vision to franchise urgent care nationally is catching on as a cure for our ailing health care system

The Problem: As a young ER doctor in Harlem, Dr. Scott Burger handled life threatening injuries – everything from gunshot wounds to tiger bites. But the doctor’s stress didn’t come from these cases; it came from long lines of non-emergency cases clogging up his ER- burning out doctors, frustrating patients and draining the system. It was a national healthcare crisis that politicians and the medical community couldn’t seem to fix.

Solution: Dr. Burger consulted his old college roommate, a successful entrepreneur and franchisor, to help him with a small undertaking: cure the country’s ailing health care system. Their prescription: franchise urgent care nationally with a reliable, recognizable medical center on every corner in America. This solution would take the non-emergency cases out of emergency rooms and provide quick, affordable and accessible healthcare to all Americans. The first Doctors Express Urgent Care Center opened its doors in 2005, in a strip mall right outside Baltimore, MD with Dr. Burger as the top doc. Five years later, 113 Doctors Express franchises have been awarded in 23 states, with a total of 56 centers set to open up by the end of the year. Dr. Burger isn’t treating gunshot wounds or tiger bites anymore. Even more exciting - he’s making medical history!

Making Medical History:
“I believed we had a great idea to nationally franchise urgent care and our success shows we are truly providing a viable solution to the health care crisis in this country,” says Dr. Scott Burger, co-founder of Doctors Express, the first ever nationally franchised urgent care company. “We have learned that when we treat healthcare like most other businesses, with excellent customer service, quick, convenient and affordable treatment, we give families the healthcare solution that’s missing in America. We filled a void in healthcare. Investors recognize this and want to buy in.”

Prescription for Success:
Dr. Burger knew to be successful, his urgent care chain had to be truly different and provide a wide array of services that families can’t get anywhere else, under one roof, seven days a week.

One revolutionary service is Me MD, new technology that allows patients to communicate with the doctor via webcam – high-tech house calls! If the medical problem is not serious and is clearly recognizable, (like a minor rash), Dr. Burger will prescribe medication over the internet. Patients save a trip into the office.

When patients do come in to a Doctors Express, they are always seen by a physician, unlike many other urgent cares. Patients can get x-rays, treatment for broken bones, immunizations, physicals, flu shots and in most cases medications right on the spot – no trips to the pharmacy.

Case Study:
So, say your daughter broke a minor bone on the soccer field.
In the past, you’d have to make four stops - the primary physician for a referral, the radiology center for the x- ray, the orthopedic surgeon for a reading of the x-ray and treatment, then the pharmacy for pain medication – all while your daughter is in pain. At Doctors Express, you get all of this under one roof. It’s a one- stop-shop for health care.

Recent studies and statistics show this is the kind of medical care busy Americans are starving for.

Americans Demand Quick, Convenient Care:

• Eighty five percent of the U.S. population is healthy and wants medical treatment to be quick, convenient and affordable.

• Only 29% of primary care doctors have after-hours coverage, and chances are you won’t see your regular doctor, even if the office is open late.

• Health Care reform, seeking to provide coverage for all Americans, will mean an additional 40 million people will want to see a doctor while the number of primary care physicians is shrinking.

• The American College of Physicians, the nation’s top group of doctors, estimates there will be a shortage of 35,000 to 44,000 primary care physicians for adults by 2025. The Association of American Medical Colleges paints a gloomier picture – saying the country could face a shortage of as many as 150,000 docs by 2025.

• American medical universities have seen a decline in the number of med school students signing up for family medicine courses, dropping more than 25% between 2002 and 2007.

• Urgent care centers are growing with some 8,700 walk-in, stand-alone urgent care centers in the U.S. and some 800 clinics opening every year.

“We knew that urgent care was the way to go, but by nationally franchising, we offer something completely different with Doctors Express – a recognizable, trustworthy health care brand wherever you travel in America,” says Dr. Burger. “So if you get sick when you’re traveling on business or on vacation, you know you can trust the physicians at Doctors Express, because you’ve been there before and got treated like royalty.”

About Doctors Express
Doctors Express was founded in Baltimore in 2005 by an emergency room physician and two business executives in Towson, Maryland, seeking a more efficient, affordable and personable system for urgent care patients. Doctors Express walk-in medical centers are sweeping across the country as America’s first nationally branded urgent care centers. Doctors Express provides state-of-the-art, non-emergency treatment for acute illness, trauma and sports injuries (including minor surgical procedures) and has on-site laboratory and digital x-ray service. Pre-employment physicals, drug screening and treatment of work related injuries are also available to local employers. Visit DoctorsExpress.com.