Emergencies and Urgent Care

Make sure you get the care you need for emergencies and urgent problems.

If you need care, but are not sure if it is an emergency, call your PCP  first. If you can't reach your PCP, call the AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware 24/7 Nurse Call Line at 1-844-897-5021. Your PCP or the nurse will help you find the best care.

If you go to an urgent-care center or the emergency room (ER), be sure to call your PCP the next day. Make an appointment. Your PCP should see you within two calendar days of your request for an urgent-care visit.

Urgent care

Urgent care is when you need care or medical treatment within 48 hours. It is for problems that are serious. These problems are not emergencies. This is when you need to see a doctor right away, but not in the ER.

Examples of urgent care conditions are:

  • Animal bites.
  • Bruises.
  • Colds.
  • Coughing.
  • Diarrhea.
  • Earaches.
  • Pink eye.
  • Rashes.
  • Sore throat.
  • Stomachaches.
  • Toothaches.
  • Vomiting.
  • Feeling very depressed or anxious and not able to do things you normally do.

You can go to urgent care centers without making an appointment. To find an urgent care center near you, use Find a provider or download the Urgent Care Center Directory (PDF).

Emergencies

If you have an emergency, call 911 or go to the ER.

You can also call one of the 24/7 Behavioral Health Crisis Hotlines:

  • Northern Delaware (New Castle County):
    1-800-652-2929
  • Southern Delaware (Kent and Sussex Counties):
    1-800-345-6785

You should only go to the ER when you need care right away for a severe injury or illness. Emergency services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

An emergency is treatment of an emergency medical condition to keep it from getting worse.

Emergencies are serious or life-threatening conditions that:

  • Need medical care right now.
  • Put your health at risk.
  • Cause serious harm to your body.

Examples of emergencies are:

  • Chest pain.
  • Choking.
  • Severe wounds or heavy bleeding.
  • Being unable to breathe properly.
  • Severe spasms or convulsions.
  • Loss of speech.
  • Broken bones.
  • Severe burns.
  • Drug overdose.
  • Sudden loss of feeling or not being able to move.
  • Severe dizzy spells, fainting or blackout.
  • Feelings that will not go away of wanting to harm yourself or someone else.

You do not need approval from AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware to get care in an emergency. You have the right to get the care you need. You also have the right to say no to treatment. You can ask for, or say no to, a transfer to a hospital.

You don't have to pay for emergency care. If one of our staff members tells you to get emergency care, you still don’t have to pay.

Call your PCP to set up a visit for care after your emergency. Do not go back to the ER where you were treated unless your PCP tells you to or if you have another emergency situation.