The Urgent Care Clinic is a service for urgent medical problems.
Urgent problems include sudden, serious, and unexpected illnesses, injuries, or conditions that require immediate medical attention.
Worker injury for UC Berkeley employees: If your injury or illness arose or occurred in the course of your employment, you should provide this information to the Urgent Care triage nurse/front desk staff at the time of your first visit to initiate billing of your Workers Compensation carrier.
What to expect in Urgent Care:
1) Assessment of your condition
- Upon your arrival in Urgent Care, please check-in at the kiosk. After registration, a nurse will speak with you and assess your medical condition -- ask you about your symptoms, take your vital signs and consult with a physician if necessary. The nurse and medical team will recommend the best way to get you the care you need.
- If an urgent medical visit is advised, you will be directed to see a provider in the Urgent Care or Primary Care clinics.
- Please see the Patient Guide to Sensitive Exams to best understand your options should an exam of this nature be required.
- If your condition does not require immediate care, the nurse will assist you in scheduling a medical appointment within an appropriate time period in one of the medical clinics or refer you to a community clinic.
*If you have a medical emergency (for example, shortness of breath, chest pain, severe pain) please let the staff know immediately upon arrival.*
2) Seeing a provider in Urgent Care
- If the nurse recommends an Urgent Care medical visit today, your name will be called when a room becomes available for you.
- Your clinician will work with you to determine the best plan of treatment and follow-up care for your condition.
- If you have an urgent condition that cannot be fully evaluated or treated in Urgent Care, we will arrange transfer to a hospital, emergency room, or local specialist for further care.
3) Wait times for Urgent Care
- When the clinic is busy, wait times may be several hours.
- The urgent care clinic is intended for urgent medical problems and has limited capacity. Patients are seen in order of acuity not by arrival time; those that don't require immediate care made need to wait are strongly encouraged to make an appointment in Primary Care or seek care in the community.
- Your cooperation and patience while waiting are appreciated.
4) Closing time for Urgent Care
- Closing time is often very busy at Urgent Care, as a result, wait times may be longer
- All patients presenting to Urgent Care will be assessed by an RN
- Those patients not requiring immediate medical care will be assisted by staff to access care within the appropriate time period (medical appointment for example).
- If we cannot provide your full and complete medical care due to the clinic's closure, we will create a plan with you to get you the care needed.
- Patients triaged to an appointment, next-day services, or the emergency room will be given a clear reason and explanation for the triage decisions.
