UC Davis Health

Urgent Care And Contracted Urgent Care Options |UC Davis Health

Urgent Care for UC Davis Health Patients With HMO Insurance (Managed Care Patients)

How to seek urgent care so it’s covered by your insurance plan

As a UC Davis Health managed care/HMO patient, you have two options for same-day or extended-hours care for urgent needs that are not medical emergencies:

video_camera_front
Option 1: Video-Based Care

Video-based care through UC Davis Health’s Telehealth Express Care service.

person_search
Option 2: In-Person Care

In-person care through a partnering community urgent care center, or possibly through UC Davis Health.

Learn more and get started below.

Option 1. Video-Based Care

No prior authorization needed

If you are a UC Davis Health patient with HMO insurance, you always have the option to use our video-based Telehealth Express Care service without requesting prior authorization first. Your Telehealth Express Care visit will still be covered by your insurance plan.

Help for a wide range of symptoms

Telehealth Express Care connects you with UC Davis providers via smartphone, tablet or computer for urgent needs and same-day and extended hours video visits.

Our Express Care doctors are standing by to serve a wide range of health care needs, such as:

  • Flu-like symptoms
  • Diarrhea and stomach problems
  • Headaches
  • Urinary tract symptoms
  • Joint pain
  • Many more symptoms and conditions

Open hours

  • Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Saturday – Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Open during holidays
  • (Hours may change; the most current hours are available in the link below)

How to get started

To connect with a doctor using our Express Care service, you will need a MyUCDavisHealth account. This is our version of the popular MyChart secure patient care portal.

If you don’t already have an account, the button below leads you to step-by-step instructions.

Connect to Telehealth Express Care Now

Step-by-step instructions, whether you already have a MyUCDavisHealth account or need to set one up.

Learn and connect here

Option 2: In-Person Care

Call us first (24/7/365) to find urgent care covered by your insurance

If you’re seeking in-person urgent care, it’s best to start by calling your UC Davis Health primary care clinic — anytime, day or night.

Why Call First? 

  • A member of our clinic staff or an advice nurse is always available.
  • They’ll help you find and authorize urgent care that’s covered by your insurance.
  • You’ll get live, human help — even on evenings, weekends, and holidays.

How To Call

  • Use your regular primary care clinic’s phone number.
  • Don’t remember it? You can find it here.
  • Then you can call them right now for help.

Important to know!

If you go to an urgent care clinic without getting authorization from us, you may have to pay an “out-of-pocket” expense that your insurance won’t cover.

If you go to an urgent care clinic that does not partner with us, you may also have to pay an out-of-pocket expense.

That's why it’s best to call us first.

How we will help you find covered care

When you call your UC Davis Health primary care clinic, here’s how our staff or advice nurses will help you seek urgent care covered by your insurance:

If you call the clinic during regular office hours, a member of our staff will let you know if we are able to set up a same-day appointment for you.

Many of our UC Davis Health primary care clinics do provide same-day appointments for our patients when they have the space to do so.

If we can’t offer you a same-day appointment, or if you call after regular business hours, our staff or advice nurse will let you know which community urgent care clinics near you are covered by your insurance.

Our staff will also provide the authorization you need to visit one of those urgent care centers without facing extra out-of-pocket costs under your insurance.

And we may be able to contact the urgent care center to let them know that you’re coming.

Our staff or advice nurse might also recommend that you use UC Davis Health’s Telehealth Express Care. 

With this service, you can easily connect with UC Davis providers via a smartphone, tablet or computer for urgent needs and same-day and extended hours video visits.

Telehealth Express Care does not require prior authorization. So you can also choose to use it first instead of seeking in-person urgent care. 

For some situations or conditions, our staff or advice nurse may connect you with UC Davis Health’s in-home urgent medical care service. This service is provided by our partner Dispatch Health. 

Note: Patients cannot directly make an appointment with this service.

If you believe you are having a medical emergency, as always please dial 9-1-1 or go to a hospital emergency room. 

Call Your Primary Care Clinic Now

Someone will be available 24/7 to help you find covered urgent care.

Find your clinic phone number here

Urgent Care Sites That Partner With UC Davis Health

Below are the urgent care centers that we partner with for HMO (managed care) patients.

  • Remember, it is best to call your UC Davis Health primary care clinic first (24 hours a day, 365 days a year) before going to one of these urgent care facilities. That will help prevent you from having to pay out-of-pocket costs that are not covered by your insurance. 
  • For UC Davis Health patients who are UCD HNT Medi-Cal members, the list below will say if an urgent care center is an approved Medi-Cal site.
  • Open hours, phone numbers, and time of last patient accepted may change without notice. If needed, double check with the center you wish to visit.