Virtual Urgent Care: What Works by Video and What Needs a Clinic

Virtual urgent care works well for problems a provider can assess by talking with you and looking at you on camera: colds and flu-like illness, sinus congestion, UTI symptoms, many rashes, pink eye and a mild stomach bug. Anything that needs hands-on examination, a test, an X-ray, stitches or a procedure needs a clinic. AfterOurs telehealth video visits run daily from 8 AM to 11 PM for patients in Colorado, and if it turns out you need to come in, we'll get you into one of our clinics.

What can an online doctor visit usually handle?

These are problems a provider can often manage over video, and prescribe for if needed:

• Cold and flu symptoms, and COVID-19
• Sinus infections and seasonal allergies
• Urinary tract infection (UTI) symptoms
• Rashes, hives and poison ivy
• Pink eye
• A mild stomach bug, constipation, motion sickness, and yeast infection or bacterial vaginosis symptoms

The full list is on our telehealth page. Even for these, the provider decides on the call whether video is enough. A rash that needs a closer look, or symptoms that don't fit the usual pattern, may mean a clinic visit.

What needs an in-person visit?

Video can't replace hands, instruments or a lab. Come into a clinic for:

• Injuries: sprains, possible fractures and anything that might need an X-ray
• Cuts that may need stitches, abscesses that may need draining, and other procedures
• Anything that needs a test in the clinic, like a rapid strep, flu or COVID swab, or an EKG
• Ear pain, where the provider needs to look inside the ear
• Belly pain that needs an exam, and dehydration that might need IV fluids
• Physicals, TB tests, drug screens and vaccines

If you're not sure which you need, a video visit is a reasonable place to start. The provider can tell you whether you need to come in.

Video visit or urgent care tonight?

A few practical questions help you choose:

• Could the provider need to touch, listen to or test something? If you were hurt, have a lump or wound, or the main question is "is it strep?", come in.
• Is it a familiar problem with clear symptoms, like a UTI you've had before, a sinus infection or a rash you can show on camera? Video is often enough.
• Would getting in the car be hard tonight, because you're feverish, have kids asleep, or live far from a clinic? Starting with video saves the trip if it turns out you don't need one.

Telehealth runs during all our clinic hours, daily from 8 AM to 11 PM, so the same evening options apply whichever you pick.

How an AfterOurs telehealth visit works

• Book a time online and complete check-in from your phone.
• When the provider is ready, you get a video link by text.
• You talk through your symptoms and show the provider anything relevant on camera.
• You leave with a plan. If the provider prescribes something, it goes to your pharmacy. If you need to be seen in person, they'll get you into a clinic.

To get the most from the call: be somewhere quiet with good light, have your phone charged, know your pharmacy's name and location, and have a list of your medications and allergies. If you've taken your temperature, have the number ready. You need to be in Colorado at the time of the visit.

What does a telehealth visit cost?

A telehealth video visit with an AfterOurs clinician is $75 self-pay. If the provider decides you need a clinic visit, your telehealth payment is applied toward it, so you don't pay twice for the same problem. Self-pay in-clinic visits start at $175. The cost and insurance page has the full price list.

Call 911 or go to the ER if… you have chest pain or pressure, trouble breathing, signs of a stroke (face drooping, arm weakness, slurred speech), a severe allergic reaction with swelling of the face or throat, sudden severe belly pain, heavy bleeding, confusion, fainting, or a serious injury. Don't book a video visit for an emergency.

Where to find us

Four clinics across metro Denver, all ages welcome, se habla español:

• Hampden (Southeast Denver): 8 AM–11 PM daily
• Littleton: 8 AM–11 PM daily
• Thornton: 8 AM–11 PM daily
• Highlands: Mon–Fri 5–11 PM, Sat–Sun 8 AM–11 PM

Walk in, or book online.