San Francisco Urgent Care is dedicated to helping patients in need of immediate health care locate Ugent Care Centers, Convenience Care Clinics (RetailClinics) and private doctors who offer walk in appointments and same day doctor visits in the San Francisco area.

San Francisco Urgent Care will help patients seeking immediate care understand the differences between urgent care centers, retail clinics and physicians willing to see same day patient appointments in San Francisco in order to assist them in determining where to obtain appropriate care. Finding a doctor in San Francisco willing to accept same day appointments can be difficult. San Francisco Urgent Care will serve as a directory to help patients locate these same day doctors in San Francisco and obtain access to care.
 

The common thread to all three of these medical establishments is immediate access to health care. A survey released in August 2008 found that 73 percent of people said they had difficulty getting access to their doctor when they needed to. Thirty percent of those surveyed reported that it was hard to get a next-day appointment when they were sick. Sixty percent said it was difficult to get care from their personal doctor on weekends or in the evening. Greater than 40 percent of respondents said that, even during regular business hours, they had trouble getting advice from their doctor on the telephone. Urgent care centers, Retail Clinics and private doctors offering same day appointments throughout San Francisco focus on improving health care access to patients with immediate need.

 

 

Comparison of Establishments Offering Immediate Non Emergent Medical Care

	Urgent Care	Convenience Clinics	Private Doctors
Walk Ins Welcome	XXXX	XXXX	XXXX
Offer Same Day Appointments	XX		XXXX
Wide Range of Services	XXXX	X	XXXX
Treat Urgent Conditions	XXXX		XX
Service Oriented Views Patients as Customers	XXXX	XXXX	XX
Continuity of Care is a Central Component			XXXX

 

 

Urgent Care Centers:

Although there in no nationally accepted definition of what exactly is an urgent care center, their scope of services falls between the primary care doctors office and the emergency room. Urgent Care centers offer acute, non-emergent care emphasizing customer service. Most San Francisco Urgent Care centers offer walk in visits, extended weekday and weekend hours as well as expanded services compared to primary care doctors offices.

Many services provided in San Francisco Urgent Care centers are offered in primary care doctor's offices. In addition they usually include on site radiology, as well as laceration repair, administration of intravenous fluids, occupational health care, on site laboratory testing and on site medication dispensing.

The first urgent care centers in the United States opened in the 1980's and that number has grown to more than 12,000 to 20,000 centers today. Although most Urgent Care centers accept patients of all ages some specialize only in pediatric patients.

Below is a list of San Francisco Urgent Care centers:

CarePractice
Urgent & Primary Doctors
508A 14th Street San Francisco, CA 94103
Same Day Appointments
House Calls Available 24/7
415-864-4444

On Call Medical
490 Post Street Suite 710
415-732-7029

Community Health Network
1001 Potrero Ave
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 206-8052‎

San Francisco Convenient Care Clinics (Retail Clinics)

According to the Convenient Care Association Convenient Care Clinics are small health care facilities located in convenient settings accessible to the public. They provide non- emergency services to walk-in patients, regardless of insurance status, at affordable prices seven days a week. Convenient Care Clinics are primarily staffed by advanced practice nurses, including nurse practitioners. Convenient Care Clinics may also be staffed by physician assistants and/or physicians. Convenient Care Clinics provide quality care for common episodic ailments, as well as immunizations, physicals, and health screenings. As of November 2007, there were close to 800 Convenient Care Clinics in the United States. This number is predicted to grow to 1500 by the end of 2008.

Their scope of services are extremely limited compared to both Urgent Care centers and physicians offices who accept walk in patients. These sites are not designed to address urgent issues. Lacerations and minor fractures for example would not be cared for in these Convenience Care Clinic settings. Much like Urgent Care centers, continuity of care with patient follow up is not a primary focus of these Retail Clinics.

Below is a list of San Francisco Convenience Care Clinics /Retail Clinics

QuickHealth
Inside Farmacia Remedios
2400 Mission Street (at 20th Street)
San Francisco, CA 94110
Telephone: 415-643-6162

Private physicians offices offering same day appointments:

Many private physicians in both primary care and various specialties throughout San Francisco have begun to recognize the need for providing immediate access to patients in need of urgent and less urgent immediate medical care. The services offered by these private physicians varies from doctor to doctor and is consistent with the services customarily offered in their office.

Some of these San Francisco doctors have established their practice as a Concierge medical practice. In doing so they limit their patient volume and provide immediate access in exchange for a yearly fee. Other physicians have added extended office hours and employed Physician Assistants and nurse practitioners to assist in immediate patient care.

The obvious advantage is that patients receive continuity of care from their private physicians with whom they already have an established relationship.

San Francisco doctors who accept same day appointments or walk in appointments:

CarePractice
Urgent & Primary Doctors
508A 14th Street San Francisco, CA 94103
Same Day Appointments
House Calls Available 24/7
415-864-4444

MD LTD
45 Castro Street
Suite 338
San Francisco, CA 94114
(415) 621-6886