These barriers impededand eventually assisted kill or drive into the arms of a competitortwo companies that provided ingenious health care services directly to customers. Health Stop was a venture capitalfinanced chain of conveniently situated, no-appointment-needed health care centers in the eastern and midwestern U.S. for clients who were looking for quick medical treatment and did not need hospitalization.Think who won? The neighborhood physicians bad-mouthed Health Stop's quality of care and its faceless corporate ownership, while the healthcare facilities argued in the media that their emergency clinic might not survive without earnings from the fairly healthy patients whom Health Stop targeted. The criticism tarnished the chain in the eyes of some clients.