Ways to get a doctor’s appointment faster

Timely medical appointments are essential to your health and well-being. Primary care and screenings can usually be easily booked in advance so you can stay up to date. But when you or a loved one needs care that is unplanned but not urgent, you don’t want to wait.

When your doctor isn’t available for time-sensitive appointments that don’t require an emergency department visit, you have options. Telehealth and other in-network virtual options are great ways to get the care you need sooner. Your condition might be able to be treated at urgent care or by a provider at another location within your care system. We’re here to help you decide which option is best for you.

Same-day doctor’s appointments can be hard to get

There may be times when you are able to see your doctor right away, but doctors have full schedules and don’t often have same-day appointments available.

When you can’t see your doctor as quickly as you’d like, you have options for getting care in different ways:

• In-network virtual and telehealth options
• Sending an e-visit message to your doctor
• Seeing another provider in your care group, either at the same location or a different one (but make sure they’re in your health plan network before you go!)
• Urgent care

These options are increasingly popular, even when urgency isn’t an issue. Many people find virtual visits or sending a quick message to their doctor works better with a busy schedule.

Telehealth care is convenient care

With telehealth care, you may not have to leave your home or even your couch, and you only need a computer, tablet or smartphone. Providers in your care group are often available to see you quickly through telehealth, particularly if you’re willing to see someone who’s not your regular clinician or who’s not at your closest location.

E-visits are a great way to stay in contact with your doctor

If you’re okay waiting a day or two for a response and you have an online account, an e-visit with your own doctor is a great option. Depending on your need, you may get charged for a visit, but e-visits are a faster, more convenient way to ask your care team a question, follow up after an appointment or get treatment advice. Message your care team for questions about non-urgent symptoms, upcoming visits, ongoing condition management, prescription side effects and renewals, or recent test results.

Telemedicine is fast and efficient

Virtuwell is available to all patients and is an in-network service for most HealthPartners members and offers care for many conditions. With Virtuwell, you can get a diagnosis, treatment plan and prescription (if needed) from board-certified nurse practitioners. Fill out an online questionnaire to describe your symptoms and upload photos of your condition to be reviewed by a provider.

Members can sign in to learn about all the virtual and telemedicine providers in their plan network. Those include providers that offer face-to-face virtual visits with clinicians and can diagnosis and treat a wide variety of conditions 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

CareLine is available 24/7 at no extra cost

When you’re not sure what type of care you need or how quickly you need it, CareLine can help you get fast advice from a nurse. Members and patients commonly call CareLine about abdominal pain, fever, bee stings, rashes, hives and tick bites; or children’s fever, diarrhea and rash. CareLine nurses can help determine next steps for you, including whether or not you should seek immediate care.

HealthPartners patients should call their clinic to talk to a nurse during clinic hours. If it’s after hours, please call the CareLine.

CareLine is available 24/7 for HealthPartners members at no cost as part of their health plan.

Consider whether you need a visit to urgent care or the emergency room

When you need immediate care, urgent care or the emergency department is best. Emergency care is often the most expensive care for plan members, so be sure it’s the best choice for your condition. If you don’t truly need emergency care, you’ll likely wait longer, and it will cost you more to go to the emergency department than if you go to a more appropriate place for the care you need.

Urgent care is for medical matters that shouldn’t wait but aren’t life threatening. On healthpartners.com or the HealthPartners mobile app, HealthPartners members can find the closest urgent care options in their health plan network. Patients can also find wait times for our 20 urgent care locations. If you don’t want to wait for urgent care when you arrive, consider an urgent care virtual visit. You can also use Save My Spot, which puts you on the urgent care wait list before you arrive.

Orthopedic urgent care is an ideal way to be seen quickly for sprains, strains, dislocations and breaks that can’t wait but don’t need emergency care. Most HealthPartners members and patients can be seen at any TRIA orthopedic urgent care location. TRIA orthopedic urgent care is open seven days a week, and you don’t need an appointment. (Note: If you’re in a primary care clinic plan, check to make sure that TRIA orthopedic urgent care is in your network before you go.)

If you’re unsure whether you need emergency or urgent care, HealthPartners members can call CareLine. Nurses are available 24/7 to help you.

Remember: If you need emergency or urgent care, make sure that you use clinics and doctors in your health plan network for any follow-up care. Members always get the most affordable care when they use in-network providers.

You could be seen sooner at another location or provider in your care system

Large care systems like HealthPartners have many locations and clinicians. Often, you can find someone to see more quickly if you’re willing to travel a little farther or see a clinician that you haven’t seen before.

Plus, any provider across that care group can access your medical records. So, your care team will always have your health history, medications and recent lab results at hand.

For certain types of care, HealthPartners patients can search for appointments across care locations by first available. When searching for primary care, colonoscopy or mammogram appointments, you can view options by the next available time, location nearest to you, or doctor or clinician.

Before getting care from a new doctor or location, always be sure to confirm that they’re in your plan network by checking your plan’s website or calling Member Services. Otherwise, it may cost more than you expect.

Specialist appointments usually take longer to get, but you can save time by creating an online account or using the HealthPartners mobile app. Find and book appointments for many types of specialists more quickly when you do it online or through the app.

If you’re not finding a specialty appointment soon enough for your needs, Fast Pass is an option available for many HealthPartners specialties, including dermatology, allergy/asthma and behavioral health therapy. Schedule your appointment online or by phone, and we’ll give you the option of joining our Fast Pass-enabled waitlist. If an earlier appointment opening occurs with your provider once you’re on the list, you’ll receive a text with instructions on how to accept the new time and date if it works for you. Keep in mind that those offers are shared with you and up to four other patients on a first come, first served basis, so act quickly if the offered time works best for you.

When you can, plan ahead

Waking up with a fever or getting injured on the pickleball court are not predictable events, but you can plan for preventive care appointments and annual screenings. Online scheduling is a great way for you to easily book appointments for most types of care months in advance.

If you need to book a follow-up with the same provider, consider scheduling your next appointment while you’re still at the clinic. Scheduling immediately will give you the best chance of getting a timely visit with the doctor and clinic you want.

We are here to help

When you can’t get in to see your regular provider as quickly as you’d hoped, get the same great care you know and trust virtually, on the phone or from a different location. Don’t hesitate to call Member Services, your clinic or CareLine the next time you need care in a hurry or use our digital tools to find in-network care near you.