Urgent Care

Sometimes you or your family need to see a doctor right away, but you may not require a trip to the emergency department. If that's the case, you can rely on The University of Kansas Health System's Urgent Care offices where you never need an appointment. Our advanced urgent care services are provided by experienced physician assistants and advance practice registered nurses. Services include treating injuries and medical conditions, as well as running diagnostic tests.

Our five urgent care centers in the Kansas City area allow you to see a doctor without an appointment. You should use urgent care for medical problems that require attention, but are not serious enough to require a trip to the emergency room. These medical problems might include respiratory difficulties associated with asthma and allergies, sore throats, coughs, fever, rashes, minor injuries, headaches, vomiting and flu-like symptoms.

Urgent care clinics can provide quick access to medical help.

Urgent care facilities seem to be popping up everywhere. These clinics provide quick access to medical help when you need it for conditions that don't warrant a visit to the emergency department.

However, it can be tricky to know when you should visit urgent care instead of taking your troubles to an emergency department or waiting until your primary care physician can see you.

Urgent care clinics also provide services not available in most traditional doctor’s offices, including X-rays, some lab work and tests such as electrocardiograms. Urgent care clinics may also be more convenient because you can walk in without an appointment, in a close location to where you live or work.

• Asthma and allergy symptoms
• Sore throats
• Coughs
• Fevers
• Rashes
• Minor burns
• Headaches
• Vomiting
• Flu-like symptoms
• Simple fractures or sprains
• Cuts that might require stitches

Urgent care visits are not able to handle serious symptoms, like:

• Serious head injury
• Difficulty breathing
• Severe pain
• Loss of consciousness
• Throwing up or coughing up blood
• Bleeding that won't stop
• Severe allergic reactions that include face swelling or itching throat
• Seizures
• Chest pain
• Fevers in babies three months old or younger
• Pregnancy issues
• Any symptoms that make it impossible to walk, breathe or perform other basic functions

These serious symptoms need immediate attention and may indicate life-threatening conditions. In these instances, you need to seek emergency services.

Once you've decided urgent care is your destination, you can do a few things to make the most of your visit.

• Be able to describe your symptoms.
• Provide a list of your current medications and allergies.
• Know your basic medical history.
• Be prepared for a brief wait. Typically, patients are served in the order they arrive, unless it is determined that someone's needs are much more urgent.
• Continue a relationship with your primary care physician.