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How to Get Care

Updated April 3, 2020

CDC's Coronavirus Symptom Checker

Use the CDC's Coronavirus Self-Checker to help you make decisions and seek appropriate care.

COVID-19 Self-Checker

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How do I schedule a doctor or Urgent Care appointment?

For your safety and to minimize the potential of virus exposure for our patients and staff, we are screening all patients via phone before scheduling any appointments. As a result, we have temporarily disabled online scheduling and we are not taking walk-ins. We are still taking primary care and urgent care appointments.

URGENT CARE

In order to provide care in the most safe and effective manner, we are temporarily consolidating our seven Urgent Care Center locations to four as of Friday, March 20, 2020. This change lets us move clinicians and staff to our four largest Urgent Care locations, which allows us to more efficiently and effectively provide care to our community. 

The four Urgent Care Centers that remain open are:

Each location has separate areas for respiratory and standard urgent care:

  • Respiratory Urgent Care (to treat all patients with respiratory symptoms or a positive COVID-19 screen) All patients will receive a mask upon entering the Respiratory Urgent Care.
  • Standard Urgent Care (to treat all other appointments for illnesses and minor injuries)

Temporarily closed Urgent Care Centers:

  • Concord Urgent Care
  • Orinda Urgent Care
  • San Ramon Urgent Care
PRIMARY CARE

To schedule a doctor’s appointment, please call your primary care doctor’s office. When you call, you will be screened to assess your condition so that we can provide you with the most appropriate care.

Telephone Visits
To help reduce the risk of exposing patients, staff and clinicians to viruses, including COVID-19, many John Muir Health doctors are doing most visits via phone. We are also doing some phone visits in our Urgent Care Centers. This means that patients will have a scheduled appointment with a doctor over the phone instead of in the doctor’s office or in one of our Urgent Care Centers. Some patients may have an additional in person visit if the doctor determines during the phone visit that the patient needs to be seen in person.

When should I call my doctor about COVID-19?
  • If you have a fever OR respiratory symptoms AND
  • Have traveled internationally or been on a cruise ship with a known outbreak (or been in contact with someone who has) in the last 14 days

OR

  • If you have a fever OR respiratory symptoms AND
  • Have been in contact with a known or potential COVID-19 patient, including a health care worker or other person under quarantine
How do I know when I should seek care?

1. If you feel sick, stay home. It’s the best way to avoid spreading illness.

2. If you have flu-like symptoms such as a fever, cough, or sore throat:

  • Mild symptoms, stay home: Please stay home, isolate from others in your house as much as possible, and follow prevention measures such as washing your hands and disinfecting surfaces.
  • Worsening symptoms, call first: If you begin to feel worse, please call your primary care doctor. After hours or on weekends, please call one of our Urgent Care Centers.
    • Screening: At this time, John Muir Health Urgent Care Centers and many primary care doctors are not taking walk-ins, and we have also temporarily disabled online scheduling. This allows us to properly screen you over the phone so that we can guide you to the appropriate care.
    • Phone Visits: To help reduce the risk of exposing you and others to viruses, including COVID-19, many John Muir Health primary care doctors are doing most visits via phone. This means that you will have a scheduled appointment over the phone instead of in your doctor’s office. When you call us with symptoms, we’ll let you know if the most appropriate visit for you is a phone visit.
  • Severe symptoms, call 911: If you are in need of emergency care, please call 911. Please know that patients coming to the Emergency Room will only be tested for COVID-19 if they meet high-risk criteria. This will ensure that those who most need evaluation and testing can receive it in a timely manner.

3. If you are told by your health care provider that you should self-quarantine, please stay home. Some viruses, including COVID-19, can be present without symptoms. Even if you don’t feel sick, you could still infect others in the community.

4. If you are sick, please leave your house only to go to doctor appointments, or to obtain food or medications. Please wear a face mask if you must go out. Avoid crowds as best as possible and obtain an adequate supply of food and medications so that you can minimize the number of times you go out. Consider using grocery delivery services when possible.

Should I call my primary care doctor’s office first?

Yes. Please follow these steps so we can assist you with getting the most appropriate care:

  • Call your primary care doctor's office. If your primary care doctor is not available, please call one of our Urgent Care locations.
  • Please do not go directly to one of our Urgent Care locations. To protect patients, staff and the community, we are screening and advising all patients by phone. We are temporarily not accepting walk-in visits.

Note: If you do not have a health care provider, please call your County’s Public Health Department for instructions.

Where can I go to get tested for COVID-19?

We understand that many people would like to be tested for COVID-19. John Muir Health is collecting specimens to be tested. It’s important to know that we have a limited number of tests available to us, and we do not currently have enough supplies to test every John Muir Health patient. This means that COVID-19 tests are being prioritized for patients who meet high-risk criteria as outlined by the CDC. This ensures that those who most need evaluation and testing can receive it in a timely manner. 

Testing is done by doctor’s order only, following an in-person or phone evaluation. If you are told that you are not eligible to be tested, this means that your health care provider has determined that your risk-status and symptoms indicate that you will do best with at-home care. 

Please follow these steps so we can assist you with getting the most appropriate care:

Note: If you do not have a health care provider, please call your County’s Public Health Department for instructions.

What do I do if I test positive for COVID-19?

If you test positive for COVID-19, please download and review these instructions carefully. Please call your doctor if you have any questions.

What if I feel like I need emergency care?

If you decide that you need emergency care, you will be screened when you enter the Emergency Room. If you have respiratory symptoms, you will be given a mask to wear. If you have respiratory symptoms and meet the screening criteria for COVID-19, you will be given a mask and asked to wait outside of the waiting room. A nurse will come out to you and escort you to a patient room.

Please know that patients coming to the Emergency Room will only be tested for COVID-19 if they meet high-risk criteria. This will ensure that those who most need evaluation and testing can receive it in a timely manner.

Will I be billed for COVID-19 care?

Our team is focused on the health of our community and reducing barriers for patients seeking care for coronavirus (COVID-19). With this in mind, John Muir Health has suspended patient billing for the screening and testing of COVID-19.

We will continue to work with health insurance payers and federal, state, and local officials to determine the cost-sharing associated with providing care related to the pandemic. However, right now, nothing is more important than ensuring the health and safety of our patients and community.

If you think you have been exposed to COVID‑19 and develop symptoms, such as fever, cough or difficulty breathing, please call your primary care doctor's office. If your primary care doctor is not available, please call one of our Urgent Care locations.

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