Telehealth for anyone in Florida: a same-day virtual doctor visit with an UrgentMed provider, by video or by phone, from home, work or the road. Virtual urgent care — also called telemedicine — handles the common illnesses and follow-ups that do not need hands-on care. When something does — an X-ray, blood work, a wound — the provider sends you to a same-day walk-in visit at Davie or Plantation with your notes already in the chart.
What is virtual urgent care?
It is the same urgent care visit, held by secure video — or by phone — instead of in an exam room. A Florida-licensed physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner reviews your symptoms and history, looks at what the camera can show, and decides what you need. That may be a prescription sent to your pharmacy, advice and a plan to watch symptoms at home, a work or school note, or an instruction to come in today. It is not a chatbot and it is not a symptom checker — you talk to a provider.
UrgentMed’s virtual visits are run by the same clinical team that staffs the Davie and Plantation clinics, so a video visit and a walk-in visit share one record. That is the practical difference from a national telehealth app: if you need to be seen in person an hour later, the provider who sees you already knows what was said.
What a telehealth visit can treat
- Cold, flu and COVID-19 symptoms, sinus congestion, sore throat and cough — when you are not short of breath.
- Urinary symptoms, rashes, pink eye, minor allergic reactions and insect bites.
- Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea that has not caused dehydration.
- Medication questions and refills of a short-term prescription started at a clinic visit.
- Follow-up on a recent visit, or on lab and X-ray results.
- Work-injury and accident follow-ups when the examination has already been done in the clinic.
- Deciding whether a symptom needs a walk-in visit today, an emergency room, or can wait.
Telehealth, telemedicine, virtual visit, online urgent care — one visit, several names
Searchers use a dozen names for the same thing: virtual urgent care, urgent care telehealth, a telemedicine visit, a video visit, a televisit, a virtual doctor visit, an online doctor visit, an online urgent care appointment. Florida law uses “telehealth” (s. 456.47, Florida Statutes), and defines it as care delivered by a licensed provider using telecommunications technology. Whatever you call it, at UrgentMed it means a scheduled, same-day appointment, by video or by phone, with a provider who can prescribe, document and refer.
Emergency medical condition evaluations by telemedicine
After a car accident, Florida’s no-fault law pays up to $10,000 in PIP medical benefits only when a qualified provider determines that the injured person had an emergency medical condition. Without that determination, benefits are limited to $2,500. UrgentMed providers make the determination in both offices and, for patients who have already been examined for their injuries, by telemedicine as well. See car accident injury care for the 14-day rule and how the first visit works. This is general information about the law, not legal advice.
What virtual urgent care cannot do
- Chest pain, shortness of breath, severe abdominal pain, a head injury, heavy bleeding or possible stroke symptoms — call 911 or go to the emergency room.
- Injuries that may need an X-ray, wounds that may need stitches, and ear or throat exams that need instruments — walk in instead. Both clinics are open seven days a week.
- Controlled-substance prescriptions are not written at a virtual visit.
- DOT, immigration, school and pre-employment physicals, drug testing, vaccines and IV fluids — all need an in-person visit.
- Care for anyone who is outside Florida at the time of the visit. Our providers are licensed in Florida, and Florida telehealth rules apply to where the patient is, not where the provider is.
How a virtual doctor visit works — appointment, cost and what to have ready
- Book through the online telehealth check-in. Same-day appointments are the norm; you pick a time and complete a short intake on your phone or computer.
- Have your photo ID, insurance card, a list of your medications and the name of your pharmacy ready. Good light and a quiet room help the provider see and hear you.
- Most major plans cover telehealth visits. If you are paying yourself, the self-pay price is quoted before the visit starts — you are not billed a clinic visit for a virtual visit.
- The provider reviews your symptoms by video or phone, prescribes to the pharmacy you chose when a medication is appropriate, and answers your questions.
- If you need to be seen in person, you are directed to the nearest clinic the same day, with the visit notes already in your chart.
- A visit summary and any work or school note are sent to you after the visit.
Virtual visit or walk in? How to decide
- Video is enough when the question is “what is this and what should I take for it”. A cold, a UTI with typical symptoms, a rash you can show the camera, a medication question, a follow-up.
- Walk in when the answer depends on an exam or a test done on the spot. That means a swab for strep, flu, COVID-19 or RSV, an X-ray for an injury, a wound that needs cleaning or closing, or an ear that needs to be looked into.
- Not sure? Start with the video visit. If the provider decides you need to be seen, you are already in the system and the clinic knows you are coming.
Telehealth anywhere in Florida — who can use it
Anyone in Florida — from Davie, Plantation and the rest of Broward County to Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Orlando, Tampa and beyond — as long as you are physically in Florida during the visit. New patients are welcome; you do not need to have been seen at a clinic first.
Walk in at either Broward clinic
Both clinics are open seven days a week — Davie at 5149 S University Drive (Renaissance Plaza, just off I-595) and Plantation at 10199 Cleary Boulevard, Suite 10. Both serve Davie, Plantation, Cooper City, Weston, Sunrise, Southwest Ranches, Pembroke Pines and the surrounding Broward County communities. Hours, maps and parking.
Insurance and self-pay
Most major plans cover telehealth visits. Self-pay pricing is quoted before the visit starts, and in-person care at either clinic is billed the same way as any walk-in visit. Have your insurance card and a photo ID ready for the video.