CityMD launches 'virtual line' system to curb hours-long lines for patients seeking COVID-19 tests
About 30 minutes before their appointment, patients will receive a text notifying them to return to their clinic location for registration.
CityMD, a healthcare company which operates more than 135 urgent care centers in New Jersey and New York, has launched a virtual line system in an effort to provide a more convenient experience for patients seeking COVID-19 tests.
People wait on a line for a CityMD Urgent Care location Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020, in the Forest Hills neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
The move comes after CityMD patients have been waiting in hours-long lines outside the company's clinics for months.
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After providing front desk CityMD staff with their name and phone number, patients will be given an estimated wait time and receive a welcome text where they can view how many people are in line ahead of them for COVID-19 testing.
About 30 minutes before their appointment, patients will receive a follow-up text notifying them to return to their clinic location for registration.
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CityMD expects to have the virtual line system available at all clinic locations by early January 2021. The virtual line system is available at the following clinic locations:
New Jersey
- East Brunswick
- Clifton
- East Hanover
- Jersey City- Grove Street
- Jersey City- Journal Square
- Lanoka Harbor
- Montvale
- Ramsey
- Teterboro
- Union
Bronx
- Baychester
- East 161st
- Fordham
- Parkchester
- Riverdale
Brooklyn
- Bay Ridge
- Bed-Stuy
- Bergen Beach
- Bushwick
- Midwood
- Park Slope
- Prospect Heights
- Prospect Park South
- Williamsburg
Long Island
- Bay Shore- South Sunrise Hwy
- Bellmore
- Carle Place
- Copiague
- Cutchogue
- Farmingville
- Franklin Square
- Lake Grove
- Levittown
- Lindenhurst
- Massapequa
- Plainview
- Ronkonkoma
- Sayville
- Selden
Manhattan
- East 14th
- East 37th
- East 50th
- East 67th
- East 79th
- East 86th
- Lower East Side
- Tribeca
- West Village
- West 14th
- West 23rd
- West 39th
- West 57th
- West 69th
- West 88th
- West 146th
- West 181st
Queens
- Astoria
- Ditmars
- Forest Hills
- Fresh Meadows
- Maspeth
Staten Island
- Forest Ave
- New Dorp
- Richmond
Westchester
- Eastchester
- Hartsdale
- Mamroneck
- White Plains
- Yonkers-Central Park Avenue
Patients with issues unrelated to COVID-19 will have their visit prioritized with an expedited registration. Those visiting for a medical reason unrelated to the coronavirus will not be allowed to receive a COVID-19 test during the same visit.