Depending on your symptoms, you may be able to get treatment faster while staying out of the urgent care or ER by speaking with a Connect Care provider 24/7/365 for just $49 or less (depending on your insurance).

 “The vast majority of the time it is caused by something straight forward like a bacterial infection or a kidney stone,” said William Daines, MD, Connect Care medical director.

The age and gender of the person matters significantly due to urinary system differences. Women are much more likely to have a typical bacterial bladder infection.  In men, urinary pain is more likely to be something like a kidney stone or prostate infection.

Men and children will be referred from a Connect Care visit to a doctor’s office where they will give a urine sample and have an examination.  Connect Care can assist in getting you into a doctor’s office as soon as possible and document information for that provider.

The pain with a urinary tract infection can include the following: burning and/or itching during urination, frequent urination, or not being able to urinate enough.

“They might notice some blood in the urine. A rose color to the urine can happen with a urinary tract infection.  A deeper red color is more concerning for other causes of urinary pain” said Daines.

If your symptoms include fever, chills, confusion, nausea, vomiting, lethargy and lower back pain, those situations need an in-person visit.

“Providers want to get a sense of whether this is a urinary tract infection that is just limited to the bladder or whether it is starting to involve the kidneys,” said Daines.

For adult women, if the conditions point to a simple bladder infection, then telehealth providers will be able to send a prescription to your nearest pharmacy to begin treatment.

Connect Care is not right for you if:

You’re experiencing emergency symptoms

Connect Care is not intended for treatment of emergency medical problems. The American College of Emergency Physicians identifies several important symptoms that should lead to evaluation in the closest emergency department. If you’re experiencing any of the following, please call 911 or go to the ER:

• Difficulty breathing, shortness of breath
• Chest or upper abdominal pain or pressure lasting two minutes or more
• Fainting, sudden dizziness, weakness
• Changes in vision
• Difficulty speaking
• Confusion or changes in mental status, unusual behavior, difficulty walking
• Any sudden or severe pain
• Uncontrolled bleeding
• Severe or persistent vomiting or diarrhea
• Coughing or vomiting blood
• Suicidal or homicidal feelings
• Unusual abdominal pain

You need a Primary Care Provider or a refill of a prescription

Connect Care is a great way to get care for urgent care issues, but taking care of chronic health issues (such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, asthma, and others) is not our main focus, so our providers do not generally issue refills of long-term medications. If you are in need of a refill of your ongoing medications, please contact your regular provider. If you are new to the area or need a new primary care provider for any other reason, please visit https://intermountainhealthcare.org/find-a-doctor/ to find a provider in your area.

You’re looking for pain medication or other controlled substances

As a matter of law, healthcare providers cannot issue prescriptions for controlled substances without seeing the patient in person. Because Connect Care visits are conducted over video, our providers are strictly prohibited from issuing these sorts of prescriptions. Commonly used controlled substances include medications for pain (hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine, Norco, Percocet, Tramadol, etc.), anxiety/panic (alprazolam/Xanax, lorazepam/Ativan, clonazepam/Klonopin, diazepam/Valium etc.), and ADHD (Ritalin, Adderall, etc.). If you are in need of a refill of your ongoing medications, please contact your regular provider for refills. If you don’t have one, see the information above for help finding one.