These barriers impededand eventually helped kill or drive into the arms of a competitortwo business that used ingenious healthcare services straight to consumers. Health Stop was a venture capitalfinanced chain of easily situated, no-appointment-needed healthcare centers in the eastern and midwestern U.S. for clients who were looking for quick medical treatment and did not require hospitalization.Think who won? The community doctors bad-mouthed Health Stop's quality of care and its faceless business ownership, while the hospitals argued in the media that their emergency clinic could not make it through without earnings from the relatively healthy clients whom Health Stop targeted. The criticism stained the chain in the eyes of some clients.