Patient Matters
The provider's guide to the patient's mind. Stay connected to the latest tips, trends and news in urgent care. Streamline your operations, improve your patient experience and grow your practice.
We were excited to get the chance to sit down and chat with Dr. David Shih, Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of Strategy at CityMD. He is a master of many trades, a phenomenal doctor, and a great person to get to know! He is a member of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP),...
How to become the best:The landscape of urgent care is transforming in response to the changing expectations of patients. Urgent care centers are fighting to keep up with the rapid technological innovations in the field, while also responding to increasing customer service expectations. With more...
Top Trends Urgent Cares Need to MasterToday’s patients have more health care options than ever before. Your patients are shopping around, and they have a lot to choose from. Most consumers have distinct preferences when it comes to their expectations of an urgent care center. The clinic that offe...
Urgent Care Guide
Services & Pricing
Urgent care centers, which are part of the walk-in clinic healthcare category, are a convenient resource for consumers needing treatment for minor illnesses and injuries. Services that you would normally receive at your primary care office are usually available at an urgent care including annual and school physicals, flu shots and immunizations, treatment for illnesses including colds, flu stomach pains, sinus and ear infections and more. You can also be seen for injuries such as burns, bites, sprains and breaks - things that you might first thing to go to the emergency room vs urgent care, but you’ll have a shorter wait and smaller bill at the urgent care. As for cost, without insurance, you should expect between $100-140 for your visit, plus the cost of any labs, tests or images. With insurance, urgent care will be similar to seeing a specialist with applicable co-pay.
Insurance & Payments
Nearly all urgent care centers take commercial insurance and many (if not most) will take medicare. As such if you have insurance coverage, you can expect the financial experience to be similar to visiting a specialist where you have a co-pay, usually $35-50, due at the time of the visit. Any additional lab work, x-rays or other tests performed will be billed against your insurance first and any supplemental balance due will be invoiced to you after the fact. Without insurance, you’ll pay a visit fee between $100-140 at the time of your visit. This is typically 25-50% more than your primary care provider, but usually the convenience is well worth the additional cost. If you are interested in a telehealth or video visit, your cost could be as much as 50% less than an urgent care, you could be diagnosed and prescribed medication and you’ll never have to leave your home.
Hours & Wait Times
Every urgent care center - even those part of the same group or brand - may have different hours. While they are meant to be conveniently accessible during times when your primary care provider is not, that’s subjective and highly variable. A traditional formula, however, is that an urgent care is open 6 to 7 days a week usually between the hours of 8 am to 8 pm. That could shift to nearly any 8-12 hour period between 7 am and 10 pm. You’ll even find some clinics open 24 hours a day, similar to an emergency room. As for wait time, most patients report waiting between 15-45 minutes on average, but that can certainly vary, as well. It’s usually best to find an urgent care near you to either confirm the hours online, or call the clinic directly to verify. Or, you can book a same day doctor appointment online with Solv.