Urgent Care Frequently Asked Questions

We offer urgent care on a walk-in basis only for adults and children three years of age and older. No appointment necessary.

You do not need a referral. Our centers provide care on a walk-in basis. 

You do not need to be a patient at Mass General Brigham or have a Mass General Brigham doctor to use our urgent care services.

Our staff is committed to providing safe and efficient care and to seeing each patient as promptly as possible. We make every effort to staff our clinics appropriately to keep wait times to a minimum. Note that wait times can vary depending on available resources and the number of patients waiting to be seen.  

Urgent care centers and emergency departments welcome all patients to walk-in and be seen without an appointment. A patient arriving with a more serious or urgent illness or injury will be seen before those with milder symptoms. This may result in a patient receiving care out of order and longer than typical wait times for other patients. Thank you for understanding.

Unfortunately, advance registration is not available currently. We provide care on a walk-in basis only. Patients with more acute or serious needs are seen first. 

Please bring your driver’s license or other forms of identification if you have them. Bring valid proof-of-insurance, such as your insurance card if you plan to use health insurance to pay for your visit.

Yes.If you are an existing Mass General Brigham patient with a Patient Gateway account, you can schedule a virtual urgent care appointment via Patient Gateway. Log in and schedule an appointment for a specific time slot later today or tomorrow. 

You may also schedule a visit for yourself or someone else if you do not already have a Patient Gateway account. Learn more and schedule an appointment 

Virtual urgent care is NOT for medical emergencies. For medical emergencies, call 911.

Please find a list of insurances we accept.

Note: Mass General Brigham Virtual Urgent Care does not accept international insurance plans.

Your cost-sharing for these urgent care services will depend on your health plan type. If you have questions, please contact the Member Services Department of your health plan for specifics regarding your coverage. 

Mass General Brigham will work with your health plan to bill for any amount owed after your visit. By participating in a virtual urgent care visit with Mass General Brigham, you agree to be financially responsible for payment for the services provided to you. If it is later determined that your insurance coverage changed or was not active on the day of your visit, or does not cover virtual urgent care services, you agree to be responsible for payment of the visit and you authorize Mass General Brigham to charge you the cost of the service.

We treat adults and children three and older with non-life-threatening illness and/or injury that needs prompt attention.

We are not an emergency room. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, including chest pain, dizziness, heavy bleeding, loss of consciousness, trouble breathing or speaking, or severe abdominal pain, please call 911 or visit your nearest emergency room.

We provide care for a wide range of illness and injuries, including allergies, asthma, coughs, bronchitis, colds, flu, COVID-19, fever, headache, broken bones, sprains and strains, eye and ear infections, rashes, cuts, sexually transmitted infections, stomach pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. 

Our centers perform certain diagnostic tests (digital X-ray, EKG, blood, and other lab tests) for patients receiving urgent care when the treating clinician determines they are necessary for diagnosis and/or treatment.  For example, if you sprain your ankle, we may take an X-ray to confirm that you do not have a broken ankle.  These tests are not available for non-urgent-care purposes.

No. We are not a testing site for routine blood tests or X-rays ordered by your primary care physician. For these, please visit a Mass General Brigham hospital, outpatient center or testing site that offers these services.

Mass General Brigham Urgent Care is part of a large network of providers from across Mass General Brigham, including primary care providers and world-class specialists. To search primary care providers who are accepting new patients, view our Find-a-Doctor directory. 

If you have COVID19-related symptoms, our centers can evaluate you. Symptoms include cough, fever, loss of smell/taste, muscle aches, runny nose, shortness of breath, or sore throat.

We do not offer asymptomatic testing (when you do not have COVID-19-related symptoms) or elective testing, such as for travel, return to work, or verification of COVID-19 status.

Learn more about at-home testing and what to do if you are positive.

You can also visit Mass.gov/COVID-19-testing for a state testing site near you.

If you have symptoms, we test using the viral PCR test by swabbing your nose.

Results are usually available within 24—48 hours through the Mass General Brigham Patient Gateway portal. Once the test analysis is complete, COVID-19 test results are immediately available in our Patient Gateway.

Please note: Positive test results are reported to the Department of Public Health. You may get a call from your local Board of Health or the Massachusetts COVID Team. 

Our centers do not offer the COVID-19 vaccines.  

To learn more about COVID-19 vaccination at Mass General Brigham primary care offices, some specialty offices, and our mobile vans, please visit the Mass General Brigham COVID-19 section. There are also many places to get vaccinated in your community.

Insurance plans offer different levels of coverage for urgent care visits. Please call your insurance provider for details related to your specific individual health insurance coverage, urgent care co-pay rates, or deductibles.

You may also call Mass General Brigham Urgent Care customer service at 844-377-4199 to verify if your insurance is accepted. 

When contacting your insurance, please be ready to provide member ID and plan information, found on your insurance card. For more information on how to read your insurance card, please visit the billing and insurance section of our website. 

Mass General Brigham Urgent Care accepts most major insurance. We also offer self-pay rates. View a list of accepted insurances. 

If you're paying with insurance, check with your insurance provider to see if your plan has an urgent care copay. If you have not met your annual deductible or any portion of your visit is not covered by your insurance plan, additional charges may be allocated as your responsibility.

If you choose to pay without insurance, payment is requested at the time of your visit. Mass General Brigham Urgent Care offers self-pay rates. To review these rates, please request a copy of the current Prompt Pay pricing guide during your visit. Please note: We do not accept cash payment.

For your convenience, we offer several ways you can pay your bill.  Please visit our Insurance and Patient Tools section of our site for details.