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Usually, non-life threatening injuries or conditions that need medical attention within 24 hours fall under the category of urgent care. These include cold, sore throat, pinkeye, UTI, burns, fractures, scrapes, sprains etc.
If you are unsure of whether your condition can be treated by an urgent care center, type in your symptoms or your condition on Zocdoc’s search bar, for example type “conjunctivitis” in the search bar and you will get a list of all the providers and clinics including urgent care centers near you that can provide care for conjunctivitis.
The level of care needed, insurance coverage and the treatments or procedures required all together determine the actual cost of an urgent care visit in Philadelphia. If you are paying out-of-pocket, the average cost of an urgent care visit in Philadelphia would be between $100 and $200.
Using insurance to pay for your urgent care visit can make it much more affordable. To find urgent care centers in Philadelphia that accept your particular insurance carrier and plan, hop onto the Zocdoc website or app and use the insurance drop-down menu to easily select your specific insurance. This will give you a list of all urgent care centers and providers in Philadelphia that take your insurance!
After you choose the urgent care center near you that you would like to visit based on your insurance and availability, you can book an appointment through Zocdoc for the same day, after hours or even on weekends. This will ensure you get the care you need with the shortest waiting time.
The majority of urgent care facilities are open till late evenings. Utilize Zocdoc's "More filters" to narrow your search to urgent care facilities in Philadelphia that offer their services in the evening, i.e after 5 pm.
You can opt for video visits with doctors for certain urgent care situations. To find clinics and providers that offer virtual visits or telemedicine, look for a purple video icon on their Zocdoc profiles or filter by video visits.
On weekdays, urgent care centers are usually least crowded in the late morning or early afternoon. This is due to the fact that most patients visit early in the day and around dinnertime, which is just before or shortly after work or school. Due to the fact that urgent care centers serve as peoples' go-to alternative when doctors' offices are closed in the late evening, this period is also relatively busy.
The best time to visit an urgent care center in Philadelphia is the time best suited for you! It is advised to seek urgent care within 24 hours of noticing symptoms or getting injured. To do this use Zocdoc and find an urgent care center near you that fulfills your specific criteria and book an appointment with them at a date and time most convenient to you. All bookings on Zocdoc are simple, secure and free of charge!
Urgent care refers to medical services provided on an immediate basis. These facilities typically treat injuries or illnesses that are serious enough to require prompt attention but not severe enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room. Urgent care centers can typically handle broken bones, cuts, sprains, flu-like symptoms, and minor infections. They are often open for extended hours and on weekends and can be a more convenient and less expensive alternative to the ER for non-life-threatening conditions.
Urgent care specialists are medical professionals who work in urgent care centers. They specialize in providing prompt medical attention for various injuries and illnesses. The specialists can include doctors, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. They have training in emergency, family, or internal medicine. They have experience treating a wide variety of conditions requiring prompt medical attention. They can handle minor procedures such as suturing, splinting, casting, diagnosing and treating various illnesses and injuries, and referring patients to specialists or the emergency department when necessary.
Urgent care specialists are typically trained as doctors of osteopathic medicine (DOs) and medical doctors (MDs) but can also be physician assistants (PAs) or nurse practitioners (NPs). They must complete rigorous education and training before practicing medicine in urgent care.
MDs and DOs generally have the following education and training:
The decision to go to an urgent care clinic depends on the nature of your medical concern. An urgent care center may be a good option if it is a non-life-threatening issue requiring prompt attention but not severe enough for an emergency room visit. It's always best to consult a medical professional to determine the best action for your situation.
One should visit an urgent care center for medical conditions that are not critical but still require prompt attention, such as:
It's essential to note that if you have a life-threatening emergency, like a heart attack or stroke, you should call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
In other words, urgent care centers provide high-quality medical care for conditions that cannot wait for a doctor's visit. They are simple and convenient to use and do not require long wait times (or even appointments, in some cases). In 2015, 92 percent of urgent care clinics reported less than 30-minute wait times, based on recent research by the Urgent Care Association of America (UCAOA).
In an acute medical center, specialists treat patients outside a traditional hospital-based or freestanding emergency department. Urgent care doctors are proud of their capacity to provide 24-hour, comprehensive, and adequate medical care. When a patient's regular physician is on vacation or unable to schedule a timely appointment, an urgent care clinic is an appropriate choice. When you fall ill outside of business hours, acute care medicine provides an alternative to waiting in a hospital emergency department for hours.
UCCs were at the forefront of testing and immunization initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to reports, coronavirus testing is in high demand at urgent care clinics nationwide.
Trips to emergency rooms or casualty departments are high-stress situations for patients. In contrast, visiting an urgent care clinic may be the same as seeing your family doctor. After all, urgent care is all about convenience and efficiency.
One of the first things you can expect when you arrive is to be greeted and asked how the staff can assist you. Talk about your symptoms and any pre-existing medical conditions you may have. They may also ask for general medical information to register in the clinic's system. Therefore, carrying along any medical records and radiological reports is good practice.
If you have never been to an urgent care clinic before, you may have many queries about what to bring to the appointment and how long you can expect to wait. Here is everything you need to know about preparing for urgent care visits to make the most out of them:
Unlike your primary care physician, the physicians at the urgent care center may not have access to your previous health records. You may be asked for your personal information, followed by questions regarding payment. Feel free to talk about your health insurance and any upfront costs. Finding in-network insurance coverage can significantly reduce your expenditure at an urgent clinic. Within a short time, you would see a health worker. Ideally, you should be able to consult a licensed physician, but sometimes, a nurse practitioner may see you instead.
It would help to inform your urgent care physician about past surgeries. In some cases, the physician may recommend laboratory or diagnostic tests. As critical care conditions need timely intervention, you must seek medical help immediately. However, finding competent urgent care near you who accepts your insurance takes time. Moreover, services and staff vary widely across urgent care clinics due to the need for more regulations.
Therefore, finding reputable and trustworthy physicians may seem a challenge. But with Zocdoc, you can easily find a top-rated provider matching your needs. Search for a medical condition or procedure, and we will find the best providers. Add your insurance provider's name for more targeted results.
You can also check out our detailed provider profiles. These profiles provide essential details on the doctor's background, including their education, certification and licenses, clinical interests, and language skills. Zocdoc also provides verified customer reviews for each of its providers.
Booking an appointment with Zocdoc is always simple, secure, and 100% free!
The Kaiser Family Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a study on wait times. Pennsylvania had the most extended ER wait times among the states.
Pennsylvania was at the top of the list, followed by Nevada, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The state documented a median time of 142 minutes for discharged patients in the ER, compared to 115 minutes in an inpatient waiting room. Approximately 2% of patients were removed from the facility without obtaining medication.
As per 2021 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 82.3% of adults had visited their physician. The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants 2021 report states that 10,639 certified PAs were working to improve the health conditions of citizens. Always seek your doctor's advice before starting or changing treatment. If you have a medical emergency, immediately call your healthcare provider or 911.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention[1]
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention[2]
The American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine
American Board of Physician Specialties
American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine
The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants
The content herein is provided for general informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Medical information changes constantly, and therefore the content on this website should not be assumed to be current, complete or exhaustive. Always seek the advice of your doctor before starting or changing treatment. If you think you may have a medical emergency, please call your doctor or 9-1-1 immediately.