Philadelphia Doctor Launches Free AI Tool to Help Local Families Decide When to Seek Urgent Care

MANALAPAN, NJ — A local urgent care physician and Manalapan resident has launched a free public tool aimed at one of the most common questions families ask after-hours: should I go in or wait until morning?

The tool, available at www.urgentcare.chat, lets users describe their symptoms in plain language. An AI assistant asks a few short follow-up questions, screens for emergency warning signs, and then either points the user to nearby urgent care clinics — with hours, services, and accepted insurance — or, when symptoms suggest something more serious, directs them to call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

There's no app to download. No account to create. No email required. The tool is browser-based and works on any phone or computer.

Built by a local urgent care owner

The site was built by Abhilash Buch, a Manalapan resident and owner of AFC Urgent Care in Narberth, Pennsylvania, where he commutes daily.

"Every shift, I see two kinds of patients," Buch said. "Some come in for things they could've handled at home with rest and fluids. Others wait too long because they weren't sure if their symptoms were serious. The 'should I go in?' question is genuinely hard, especially at 10pm with a sick kid. I wanted to build something that helps people make that call with a little more confidence."

The site is free to use, contains no advertising, and does not collect personal information. Users are not asked for their name, date of birth, insurance ID, or any other identifying details — only a zip code to find nearby clinics.

How it works

A user types what's bothering them — a sore throat, a fever in a child, a sprained ankle, a urinary tract infection. The AI asks a few short clarifying questions about duration and severity, then either:

• Recommends nearby urgent care clinics, with current hours, distance, accepted insurance, and one-click directions or call buttons, or
• If symptoms suggest a possible emergency — chest pain, difficulty breathing, signs of stroke, severe allergic reactions, or other red flags — the tool stops the conversation and directs the user to call 911 immediately. For mental health crises, it directs users to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

The tool does not provide medical diagnoses, prescribe medications, or replace a clinical visit. It is designed strictly as a triage and discovery aid.

Privacy and safety

In an era of growing concern about how health apps handle personal data, urgentcare.chat takes a deliberately minimal approach. The site does not store conversation content beyond a 30-day de-identified summary used for quality improvement. It does not require users to log in. It does not share data with third parties or sell information to advertisers. It is not affiliated with any specific clinic, hospital system, or insurance company.

"I'm a doctor first," Buch said. "I wouldn't want my own family using a health tool that was secretly harvesting their data. So I built one that doesn't."

The tool's safety logic was modeled on standard emergency department triage protocols, including the recognition of cardiac, stroke, sepsis, severe allergic reaction, and pediatric red flags — circumstances where urgent care is the wrong choice and emergency care is needed immediately.

Who it's for

urgentcare.chat is designed for anyone in the United States who's unsure whether their symptoms warrant a visit to urgent care. It currently includes verified data on urgent care clinics across the Philadelphia metro area, Central New Jersey, and South Jersey, with broader coverage being added.

It's not a replacement for a primary care provider, a telehealth visit, or a 911 call. It's a decision-support tool — closer to a knowledgeable friend who happens to know which clinic is open and what they treat than to a doctor.

Try it

The tool is available now at urgentcare.chat. There is no cost, no app, and no signup. Feedback can be sent through the site or by replying to this announcement.