What is the Difference Between a Walk-In Clinic and Urgent Care?
Looking for care?
Access 190+ services and plan your In-Person or Virtual Care visit today.
What is a walk-in clinic?
A "walk-in clinic" is a facility that provides high quality, affordable health care options when you don’t need an emergency room. All MinuteClinic® locations are walk-in clinics that provide convenient access to care every day, including evenings and weekends.
A walk-in clinic’s staff often includes highly qualified nurse practitioners and PAs (physician associates). These professionals can diagnose certain common conditions and illnesses such as ear infections, the flu or strep throat. They can also write prescriptions if medically appropriate.
Walk-in clinics are convenient locations where you can schedule and receive immediate care. They can handle treatment plans, prescriptions and minor health care concerns.
Walk-in clinics offer a variety of health care services, including:
- Treatment for ear and sinus infections, colds, flu, strep throat and other minor illnesses
- Treatment for minor wounds, such as non-severe cuts, blisters and skin abrasions
- Limited chronic condition screenings
- Immunizations for the flu, meningitis, shingles and other illnesses
- Health screenings for women's health and sexually transmitted infections (STIs or STDs)
- Treatment for sprains and back pain
What is a retail walk-in clinic?
A “retail walk-in clinic” is another type of walk-in clinic. It means that the clinic is part of a retail location. They can be part of or inside pharmacies, big-box stores like Target or even grocery stores and shopping malls.
Retail walk-in clinics function the same way that stand-alone clinics do. Like many stand-alone clinics, they staff nurse practitioners and PAs. And these providers can prescribe medications and treatment for non-emergencies.
What is an urgent care clinic?
Some people may also know urgent care clinics as acute care clinics. These clinics are also walk-in clinics because you don’t need to make appointments ahead of time. However, their staff and the conditions they treat may be different from walk-ins.
Urgent care clinics can take care of more serious but non-life-threatening injuries and illnesses. This can include splinting and casting broken bones. They also treat respiratory conditions (conditions related to breathing) that need immediate attention but do not need full emergency room care. This can include asthma and bronchitis.
Urgent care clinics also have higher-level diagnostic equipment, such as x-ray machines. But they’re not equipped for major surgery or procedures that require anesthesia.
Urgent care clinics usually have at least one physician on staff. They work together with nurse practitioners and PAs (physician associates) at the clinic.
Urgent care clinics are often open after standard doctor's office hours. This allows them to act as a substitute for emergency rooms when you have a severe but non-life-threatening condition.
Urgent care clinics offer services such as:
- Allergy care
- Animal bite treatment
- Casts and splints
- Digestive issue care
- Infection treatment
- Minor burn care
- Minor wound care
- Non-life-threatening asthma and bronchitis treatment
- X-rays
Why choose MinuteClinic over urgent care?
You also have 24/7 access to remote health care through our virtual care . This allows you to skip the wait and avoid potential exposure to infectious conditions.
Find care
Both in-person and virtual visits may be available when you schedule your visit.
All fields are required.
Reschedule or cancel an existing visit
Related Articles:
What is a nurse practitioner?
How much does a walk in clinic cost without insurance?
What is the difference between MinuteClinic and a HealthHUB?
What's the difference between telehealth and telemedicine?
What is the difference between a nurse and a nurse practitioner?
What is The difference between a medical doctor and a nurse practitioner?