You can get a concussion test at several places: your primary care doctor’s office, an urgent care clinic, a hospital emergency room, or a specialized concussion clinic. The right choice depends on how severe your symptoms are and how recently the injury happened. Most concussions don’t require an ER visit and can be evaluated by a primary care physician or sports medicine doctor within a day or two of the injury.
When to Go to the Emergency Room
Some head injuries need immediate evaluation. Call 911 or go straight to the ER if you or someone else experiences any of these after a blow to the head:
- Loss of consciousness
- A headache that keeps getting worse
- Repeated vomiting
- Seizures or uncontrollable shaking
- Slurred speech or confusion
- One pupil visibly larger than the other
- Weakness, numbness, or trouble with coordination
- Inability to recognize people or places
- Extreme drowsiness or difficulty waking up
For children, add one more: refusing to nurse or eat. Any high-speed impact, like a car accident or a steep fall, also warrants an ER visit regardless of symptoms. These warning signs can indicate a blood clot forming between the brain and skull, which is rare but serious.
In the ER, doctors use clinical guidelines to decide whether you need a CT scan. The criteria include failure to return to full alertness within two hours, signs of a skull fracture, vomiting more than twice, amnesia lasting longer than 30 minutes before the impact, or being over 65. If none of those apply, imaging usually isn’t necessary. A concussion itself doesn’t show up on CT scans or MRIs. Those scans are used to rule out more dangerous injuries like bleeding or fractures.
Urgent Care and Primary Care Offices
If your symptoms are milder, like a headache, fogginess, or feeling “off” but you’re conscious, alert, and not vomiting repeatedly, you can skip the ER. Call your primary care doctor or pediatrician, and most offices will fit you in quickly for a head injury. Many urgent care clinics can also perform a basic concussion evaluation, though their ability to do follow-up testing varies by location.
A standard concussion assessment involves several components. Your provider will check your symptoms using a structured scale, test your memory and concentration, evaluate your balance, and perform a neurological screening. The most widely used tool is the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool, now in its sixth version (SCAT6), which bundles all of these checks into one standardized evaluation. There’s no blood test or brain scan that diagnoses a concussion. The diagnosis is based on your symptoms, cognitive function, and physical exam.
Concussion Specialists and Clinics
For more thorough evaluation, especially if symptoms linger beyond a week or two, specialized concussion clinics offer a deeper level of care. These clinics are typically staffed by neurologists, sports medicine physicians, neuropsychologists, and rehabilitation specialists like physical therapists and occupational therapists. Many children’s hospitals run dedicated pediatric concussion programs with teams trained specifically in how concussions affect developing brains.
Pediatric evaluations follow specific CDC guidelines that emphasize using age-appropriate symptom scales rather than routine imaging. Providers also assess risk factors that might predict a longer recovery, such as a history of previous concussions or pre-existing conditions like anxiety or migraines. If your child has had a head injury, a pediatrician can handle the initial assessment and refer to a specialist if recovery stalls.
To find a concussion specialist near you, start with your primary care doctor for a referral, or search the provider directories of major sports medicine centers in your area. University-affiliated hospitals often have the most comprehensive concussion programs.
Baseline Testing for Athletes
If you’re searching for a concussion test before an injury has happened, you’re likely looking for baseline testing. This is a computerized assessment, most commonly called ImPACT, that measures your brain’s normal function: memory, reaction time, and processing speed. The idea is simple. You take the test when you’re healthy, and if you later get a concussion, your doctor repeats the test and compares the results to see how the injury has affected your thinking.
Baseline testing is available at sports medicine clinics, many pediatrician offices, and through school athletic programs. UPMC Sports Medicine, one of the largest concussion programs in the country, offers year-round ImPACT testing at multiple locations and even runs free testing events for student athletes during the summer. Many high schools and colleges coordinate baseline testing through their athletic trainers before the season starts.
It’s worth noting that ImPACT doesn’t diagnose a concussion on its own. Doctors use it as one tool alongside a physical exam and symptom evaluation. But having that pre-injury snapshot gives your provider much better information about when your brain has returned to normal and when it’s safe to return to activity.
Return-to-Play Clearance
If you’re a parent or young athlete, you may need a concussion test specifically because your state requires medical clearance before returning to sports. All 50 states and Washington, D.C. have youth concussion laws. While the details vary, the general requirement is the same: a young athlete removed from play due to a suspected concussion cannot return until a qualified healthcare provider, trained in concussion management, provides written clearance confirming the athlete is symptom-free.
The providers who can sign off on clearance typically include physicians (primary care, sports medicine, neurologists, or emergency medicine doctors), and in some states, nurse practitioners or certified athletic trainers. Your school’s athletic department will know exactly which providers qualify under your state’s law and may have a preferred referral list.
Telehealth Concussion Assessments
Virtual concussion evaluations are a newer option, particularly useful for follow-up visits or for people in areas without nearby specialists. Research on a standardized virtual concussion exam found strong agreement between telemedicine assessments and in-person evaluations, with reliability scores above 0.85 on a 0-to-1 scale. That’s high enough for clinical use.
Telehealth works best as part of ongoing concussion management rather than an initial evaluation after a fresh injury. Your first assessment should ideally be in person, where a provider can check your balance, eye movements, and neurological function hands-on. But for monitoring recovery, adjusting activity levels, and determining when you’re ready to return to normal life, a video visit with a concussion-trained provider is a reliable option.