Urgent Care for Mental Health Management

Mental health emergencies that require immediate treatment can happen at any time. Unfortunately, psychologists and mental health facilities may be closed when these issues come up. When people need medication and related treatment for a mental health condition but aren’t able to go to a doctor at that time, they may feel like going to urgent care is the quickest option. And while urgent care clinics can prescribe and refill certain medications, they can’t carry others. So is urgent care able to refill or prescribe medications for mental health conditions?

What Does Urgent Care Do?

Urgent care centers, which may also be referenced as immediate care centers, are convenient and widely-accessible medical facilities that are open late and can serve patients almost immediately. They may be available when doctors’ offices and other health centers are not.

These centers are ideal for minor medical issues and are not designed to treat life-threatening conditions. Urgent care clinics are helpful for medical services like lab work and vaccinations as well as minor illnesses or injuries. They can also serve as an alternate option for individuals who do not have a primary care doctor or people who would have otherwise gone to the emergency room for a non-emergency.

Getting Medication From Urgent Care

While it is not an urgent care clinic’s main purpose to offer medication, they do have some prescription medications available. Urgent care doctors can prescribe medications just as a doctor in a practice would. Most urgent care facilities even have their own pharmacies. This eliminates the need for patients to go to a separate pharmacy after their visit.

Can Urgent Care Prescribe Psychiatric Medications?

Urgent care doctors can only prescribe medications that require no follow-ups, short-time monitoring, or follow-ups with a primary care physician. They cannot prescribe or refill medications that require long-term monitoring because urgent care doctors don’t continue to see the same patient over time. Doctors at urgent care can’t prescribe narcotics, long-term pain management medications, or mental health medications like anti-anxiety medicines and antidepressants. If a patient is at an urgent care facility to refill a psychiatric medication that they ran out of, the doctor will not be able to make that refill. They may, however, be able to refer the patient to a doctor or mental health specialist that could quickly fill prescriptions.

How to Immediately Manage Mental Health

While you can’t get psychiatric medications from urgent care centers, there are many other resources that can offer immediate mental health treatment. Many psychologists are available at late hours to help patients virtually or write a prescription when needed. There are also mental health facilities that can accept patients at any time of day.

At Elium Health, we are essentially an urgent care center for mental health. Unlike regular urgent care facilities, our trained team of mental health professionals can refill anxiety or depression prescriptions and offer medication management. We offer next-day and same-day appointments for individuals who need medication or treatment as soon as possible. Virtual appointments are also available. To learn more about our mental health treatment services, contact our team of specialists by calling 866-552-3758 or emailing contact@eliumhealth.com.

Sources

https://www.healthline.com/health/right-care-right-time/know-before-you-go

https://www.ajmc.com/view/what-type-of-medication-can-an-urgent-care-doctor-prescribe https://psychologenie.com/can-urgent-care-prescribe-antidepressants