Tips for Going to an In-Person Urgent Care Center

While there are doctors available 24 hours a day on Amwell, occasionally you'll need to see a doctor in person. Maybe you need in-person care but your situation doesn't warrant an ER visit or your primary care doctor isn't available. If that sounds like you right about now, 24-hour urgent care centers might be a good option.

Here's what you need to know before visiting an urgent care center:

• See a doctor online first: If you can avoid the hassle of urgent care and save time, you may want to. Talk to a doctor online first and see if the in-person trip is necessary or if you can get the care and medicine you need through an online urgent care.

• Contact your primary care doctor's office: Even if you can't get through to your doctor, their staff will be able to tell you if they have a preferred urgent care location. Going to an in-network urgent care center can save you a headache later as they are already integrated with your doctor's office.

• Wash your hands: Avoid waiting room germs by washing your hands often. You may also want to carry hand sanitizer or wear a mask to avoid exposing yourself to other germs. 

• Bring your insurance card: Many urgent care centers work with major insurance providers. It's important to bring your insurance card along to make sure your visit will be paid for. If the urgent care center doesn't accept your insurance, get an estimate of the total cost before you start the visit. If the price is out of your budget, visit your health plan's website or call the member services number on your insurance card to find a location where your plan is accepted.

• Bring something to read: Wait times vary from urgent care to urgent care, but it's usually quite a bit longer than Amwell's under 5-minute average. You may need to wait for 20 minutes or as long as a few hours. If you call ahead though, they should give you a sense of how long your wait is likely to be that day.

Before hitting the road, see a doctor online first.