There are two medical facilities in Provincetown:

Outer Cape Health Services
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49 Harry Kemp Way, is a not-for-profit community health center providing a comprehensive range of primary healthcare services including urgent care, diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic medical problems, treatment of injuries, minor surgery, physical exams, pediatric and adolescent care, immunizations, women’s health services, and HIV services, as well as laboratory and x-ray services.

Call 508-487-9395, and an automated answering system will direct your call according to its urgency and need.

Provincetown Medical Group
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A medical office providing a full range of medical services and family practice at 16 Shank Painter Road. Call 508-487-3505 for an appointment. New patients are generally seen with two days for routine care.

The importance of having status as an established patient
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Both medical facilities urge visitors who come to Provincetown on a frequent or seasonal basis to establish a patient/primary care physician relationship. As an established patient, your access to medical services, especially in emergencies, is vastly enhanced. Your medical records will be on file and can be used to facilitate your care and reduce treatment delays. Primary care physicians are available to established patients after office hours. Both local medical facilities accept new patients who call during office hours.

For help finding a doctor anywhere on Cape Cod call: 1-877-CAPE COD (1-800-227-3263). This is a referral service of Cape Cod Healthcare, which operates the two major hospitals on Cape Cod.

Nearest hospital
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The nearest hospital, Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, is operated by Cape Cod Healthcare. Cape Cod Healthcare has a long-standing commitment to providing emergency and hospital medical treatment to Provincetown residents and visitors. Reputedly, the ambulance ride to Cape Cod Hospital from Provincetown is the longest in the state of Massachusetts (typically 45-minutes in the off-season, one hour in the summer). In response to this challenge, Cape Cod Healthcare has established regional counsels to coordinate medical emergency response efforts of local physicians, clinics, and rescue squads.

In contrast to the era when the ambulance to the hospital was merely transportation, time in the ambulance today is spent preparing the patient for advanced treatment upon hospital arrival, in some cases by-passing the emergency room altogether. Using sophisticated diagnostic equipment and wireless communications in the ambulance, EMT’s and paramedics are not only stabilizing medical emergences but are transmitting instantaneous diagnostic updates to medical teams standing by at the hospital. Cape Cod Hospital has experienced dramatic reductions in treatment delays for distant medical emergencies through this teamwork and has become a leader in this field nation wide. Cape Cod Hospital is listed among the 100 best hospitals in the U.S.

911
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If you feel you are experiencing a medical emergency, DO NOT HESITATE to dial 911 in Provincetown (or anywhere on Cape Cod). Most emergency physicians report that reasonable people know when something is terribly wrong with their health. One of the biggest obstacles to getting emergency treatment in time to prevent unnecessary impairment or injury or death is the patient’s own denial of the emergency. Emergency physicians cite cases where patients in need of immediate medical care at during the night waited until regular business hours to call the rescue squad because they didn’t want to be a nuisance. EMT’s advise to err on the side of caution to give them the best chance of providing a successful outcome for your medical emergency.

When you call 911, the highly trained professional and volunteer personnel of the Police and Fire Departments will take control of your medical emergency and get you the help you need. The Town of Provincetown is justifiably proud of its medical emergency response teams. Although we are a village of some 4,000 year-round residents, the Town Meeting knows we must provide medical services for the needs of upwards of 60,000 people at the height of the season. Consequently our Rescue Squad is one of the best.