UC San Diego Health offers a variety of health care options, including Express Care

UC San Diego Health ranked first among health care providers in San Diego for 2023-24, based on a U.S. News & World Report survey of best hospitals, while also making its first appearance on the “Best Hospitals National Honor Roll.”

“I think people in North County need to know that they have the ability to choose us, and that we’re there and we’re bringing that same quality to their neighborhoods,” said Stefan Tica, director of community care operations at UC San Diego Health.

Tica added that UC San Diego Health’s goal is “to provide that extended care for our primary care patients as well as to attract other patients to our clinic.”

“There are obviously a lot of health care options and choices for people in San Diego County, which is an excellent problem to have,” Tica said. “UC San Diego Health has been on the rise when it comes to every aspect of our clinical operation.”

One of UC San Diego Health’s offerings is Express Care, which provides same-day and next-day medical care for patients ages 6 months and older who are experiencing minor health care needs.

Tica said it was designed to be a bridge between regular primary care and urgent care.

“It does both things,” he added. “It does provide urgent care services, and it provides extended primary care services for our patients.”

For patients experiencing symptoms for issues such as a sore throat, urinary tract infection, sprains and ear infections, Express Care can help them within a matter of hours if their primary care doctors are not immediately available. Patients who are experiencing medical emergencies are asked to go to the emergency room.

Express Care locations are open seven days per week, available without appointments, and patients can reserve spots in an online queue system. Video appointments for Express Care are also available for patients ages 18 and older who are experiencing minor health issues.

The newest Express Care facility opened in UC San Diego Health’s Vista facility, located at 910 Sycamore Ave., Suite 270. The latest Express Care facility is part of UC San Diego Health’s goal to provide an extensive network of options for their patients, and to give more options to prospective patients.

Other Express Care facilities are located in Encinitas, Rancho Bernardo, downtown San Diego, Eastlake and Pacific Highlands Ranch.

“We have a very diverse group of doctors and clinicians in general,” Tica said. “Our teams are growing, we have expanded access so we can take care of people same day, whether it be a walk-in, or we have a mechanism called ‘save my spot’ on our website. People can basically put themselves in a queue and they can be seen same day. And then from there, their care can be facilitated through the UC system or into our clinical network of partners. So we have a vast range of options for both primary care and speciality and subspecialty care that other health systems might not have in that same setting.”

For more information, visit health.ucsd.edu.

— Business Spotlight features enterprises that support this publication.