In 1985, the Medical Review Foundation (MRF) owned by the Medical Society of Sedgwick County, was conducting in-hospital and utilization reviews for many large companies in Wichita when it was approached by Beech Aircraft to develop a new health plan with discounts and, specifically, a Wesley Hospital-based PPO (preferred provider organization). At the same time, Preferred health Care (later known as Preferred Health Systems) had created a PPO (anchored by St. Francis Hospital).

The Medical Review Foundation responded to Beech Aircraft’s request by creating a PPO called the Wichita Preferred Provider Association (WPPA). This was the beginning of the PPO managed care movement in Wichita.

WPPA only recruited providers and facilities in the Wichita area. By 1994, the organization had contracts with 1,600 physicians and 64 hospitals throughout Kansas and served 40,000 people living in all parts of the state. As a result of this expansion, the name was changed to simply – WPPA, Inc. In 2007, the name was changed again to ProviDRs Care to emphasize the physician ownership of the PPO dedicated to quality patient care and the continued expansion of the network outside of the Wichita market.

ProviDRs Care continues to grow their service offering and now offers multiple health care solutions for providers, employers, networks and payers.