Having an urgent care clinic in your area does not mean it is going to be all things to all people. It shouldn’t be. An urgent care clinic is intended for urgent matters only, not for routine health matters or primary care. Setting reasonable expectations when you go to an urgent care clinic will help you to make the most of your experience.

What to Expect From Your Local Urgent Care Clinic

1 — Wait times

People complain all the the time about sitting in waiting rooms too long. In primary care or specialty offices, you have a set appointment. The same cannot be said for an urgent care clinic. It is a first-come, first-served situation, and any number of medical conditions could walk through the door. Different medical problems will require more time. Urgent care clinics perform more procedures than most primary care offices. Putting in stitches takes time. Molding splints onto fractured bones takes time. Stabilizing someone having a heart attack takes time. Even if there is only one person in front of you, you do not know their medical situation. Expect to wait. Do not take your frustrations out on the clinic staff. They are doing their best to provide appropriate care to each patient as efficiently as they can.

2 — Prioritizing emergencies

It may happen that someone gets ahead of you in line. Staff is trained to keep an eye out for true medical emergencies. Someone may be brought back to the doctor immediately on their arrival, leaving you behind in the waiting room. Yes, this breaks the general first-come, first-served rule but for good reason. When lives are at stake, action has to be taken. You would want the same care and attention if you were in that situation. Please be patient during these times. It is not the intention of the clinic to make you wait longer.

3 — Antibiotics

Going to an urgent care clinic does not mean you are guaranteed an antibiotic for your infection. A healthcare provider, whether they work in the primary care office, a specialty office, an urgent care clinic, or a hospital is going to treat you based on their best medical judgement. They are the ones with the medical training. Not even Dr. Google can deny that. Everyone wants a quick fix, but viruses, not bacteria cause most of the common infections out there. Antibiotics do not treat viruses. Antibiotics do you more harm than good when you don’t need them.

4 — Pain medications

Do not think an urgent care center is going to be a resource for pain medications. Most centers do not carry narcotics. If an urgent care clinic does prescribe pain medication, they may limit how much they give you, in most cases a maximum 2-3 day supply, if at all. No refills are a general policy. Do not become hostile with staff for not prescribing controlled substances. If you have recurrent pain problems, it is best to follow-up with one doctor or at least one office for all your pain care needs. This way you will get the care you need with someone who best understands your medical situation.

5 — Medication refills

Do not count on an urgent care clinic to refill your regular medications. They do not have access to your medical record. This is especially concerning if your medications require blood work. It would be inappropriate for the clinic to take on this liability since they would not be seeing you in follow-up. Your regular doctor’s office should have someone available on call, even after the office is closed. You should call that office to speak with the on-call provider and make your requests to them. If you have recently moved and have not yet gotten a new provider, your last provider should be able to provide you with one last prescription, usually a 30-day supply to give you enough time to find a new primary care doctor or specialist to care for you. They can prescribe to you even if you moved to a different state.

6 — Closing time

Urgent care clinics are not open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week like an emergency room. If an urgent care clinic closes at 9pm, walking in at 8:55pm is probably not in your best interest. Your visit is unlikely to take 5 minutes. You must be registered in the system, your insurance verified, your payment taken, your vital signs measured (blood pressure etc.), all before you would be evaluated by a healthcare provider. Staffing could be decreased after hours depending on the clinic. If a true emergency occurs late in the evening, an emergency room visit may be more appropriate. If it is not a true emergency, does your situation warrant keeping the clinic open after hours? Food for thought: No one goes into a restaurant asking for a four-course meal 10 minutes before closing. Why would you do that with your health?

Your health is their priority, but an urgent care clinic has limitations. Understand those limitations and remember that an urgent care clinic is not an emergency room.