Good Healthcare Requires Treatment of Your Mind, Body, and Soul

First Time Using Urgent Care? Here's What You Need To Bring

31 March 2017 by Hugh Larson

People who have been blessed with good health and a responsive doctor's office that always has room in the schedule might have been able to avoid going to an urgent care facility in the past several years. However, if you're one of these lucky people and have now found yourself in need of urgent care services, you might not know what to expect. An urgent care appointment works almost like a doctor's appointment, but you need to bring some extra items with you.

Identification and Financial Information

Unless the urgent care clinic you're going to is linked electronically to your own doctor's office, you'll need to bring some basic information with you. Your identification is important, and you need to bring your insurance card if you have insurance. If you do not have any, for whatever reason, bring enough money for the cost of the appointment. If you're paying up front and in cash, you might be able to get a discount.

Books or Other Time-Passers

Urgent care wait times can be rather long compared to those at your doctor's office when you have an appointment. If the clinic is very busy, you could face a wait of a few hours -- not nearly what you'd face in an emergency department waiting room but still one you should prepare for. Normally, urgent care waits are not that long, but since there's no way to predict what you'll find, it's best to bring a book or something else to occupy your attention. If you're bringing your children with you, toys would also be a good idea if they're not of reading age yet.

Timed Medication

Because there's always the chance that the wait could be long, bring any timed medication with you. If the clinic is busy, the staff will have to triage carefully, and while they'd respect the need for you to get home to take medication, you'd be better off by just bringing the medication with you, unless it has to be refrigerated.

Urgent care clinics, such as West Ocean City Injury & Illness Center, are actually a really great resource for times when you have to see a doctor fast but aren't in the middle of an actual emergency. While it might seem like you have to prepare for quite a stretch, that's just an "in case" thing -- chances are you'll be seen relatively soon. You'll find the doctors, nurses, and assistants to be very helpful.

Share

Search