Student Health Services FAQs

We have a team of New Patient Navigators. During the transition period between now and June 1, the SHCS team will help connect students to our navigator team. 

A Primary Care New Patient Navigator will contact each student that is interested in establishing care with a UCSF Health PCP.  The Navigator will talk about the various options for clinic locations and different providers available at each clinic.  Once the student has selected a PCP, the Navigator will help schedule the student’s first new patient appointment.  If the student identifies a need for services sooner than when the first new patient appointment occurs, the New Patient Navigators can help connect the student with the team at the Screening and Acute Care Clinic. 

Students should use the provided link for the intake web form and complete the form to initiate contact from our New Patient Navigators. 

Start right away. Please work with SHCS practice coordinators to begin the process. Here’s the contact information:

Phone: (415) 476.1281, option 1

Secure message: “General Administrative Question” at https://myhealthrecord.ucsf.edu. 

Primary care services will continue at SHCS through May 31. Students may opt to begin the patient registration process to have access to UCSF Health providers now. To ensure you have access to primary care after June 1, register as a UCSF Health patient now and schedule your new patient appointment. Students new to the UCSF Health primary care system can work with SHCS practice coordinators to navigate this process during the transition.  

Your first UCSF Health appointment date will be based on the primary care location requested and availability. Subsequent appointments will be scheduled online via the UCSF Health patient portal or you can contact your home clinic and schedule by phone.  

Students who wish to seek primary care from UCSF Health, please let us know your location/provider preferences (this information will only be accessed by UCSF Health): Primary Care Services Request (If you have already contacted Student Health and Counseling Services regarding your interest, please DO NOT complete.)

By having access to the entire network of UCSF primary care physicians across all UCSF Health clinics, students have far more options in terms of providers and appointment times. Understanding that students have rigorous curriculums, clinical rotations, and lab demands, UCSF Health will streamline scheduling for new patients through a dedicated team of Patient Navigators. 

UCSF Health clinics hold a certain number of appointments for same-day and next-day care for patients with acute issues. The number of same-day appointments held fluctuates over the course of the year. As we navigate this transition, the SHCS practice coordinators will be available to support you in registering for care at UCSF Health. You can continue to receive care at SHCS through May 31.  

For evening, weekend, and holiday urgent care appointments, contact Screening and Acute Care Clinic via telephone at (415) 353-2602, or schedule online at Screening & Acute Care Clinic | UCSF Health.   

At the same time that we are announcing this change, UCSF Health is making investments to expand primary care and increase access.  We are opening a new primary care practice on the Mission Bay Campus opening August 2024. In addition, we have recently hired new physicians at our Laurel Village, Lakeshore, China Basin, San Mateo and Mt. Zion campuses who are all accepting new patients. 

The change is aligned with the beginning of the academic period for the physical therapy program, which starts in June. This is the first cohort to begin the 2024-25 academic year. 

Students will be prioritized through a warm hand-off process facilitated by SHCS. As a priority patient population, similar to UCSF employees, residents and fellows, students should expect availability for non-urgent new patient appointments within 30 days of your request.  UCSF Health currently has capacity for 600-900 new patient appointments monthly in 11 clinic locations. New patient appointments are typically longer and therefore harder to schedule than a regular visit after a patient is established. 

UCSF Health tries to pursue continuity between provider and patient. While you can switch to a different primary care provider at a different location, we encourage patients to not switch frequently, but we are happy to work with you.  

You are encouraged to schedule an appointment to establish care with UCSF Health before June 1. The appointment can occur after June 1; the interest is in ensuring you are established with a provider's office so when you need to seek care, you can contact the office directly. 

UC SHIP has access through Anthem Blue Cross Network urgent care centers.  

To establish care with UCSF Health primary care, please complete the primary care service request form. This will allow you to choose the clinic location that best meets your needs and preferences. Your insurance member ID will be asked for when accessing services.  

In a true medical emergency, please proceed to the nearest emergency room. 

If you need urgent care, you may go UCSF Screening and Acute Care Clinic or an urgent care center within your health insurance network.  Students enrolled in UC SHIP can also access urgent care services via LiveHealth Online ($0 copay). 

Your information will be shared with the UCSF Health Patient Navigator Team who will reach out to you within 3 business days to schedule your initial appointment. Once established with the clinic, you can contact the clinic directly to schedule future appointments. 

In absence of the center being available at Fresno, students are encouraged to schedule a telehealth appointment with a Student Health provider by logging into https://myhealthrecord.ucsf.edu until May 31, 2024.  During the visit, student can be referred to providers in the community as needed if the student is enrolled in UC SHIP.  If the issue is more urgent, a UC SHIP enrolled member can access care via LiveHealthOnline at $0 copay or find an Anthem network urgent care center in Fresno using the https://www.anthem.com/find-care/.  

Students who waived UC SHIP can also schedule a telehealth visit with a SHCS primary care provider until May 31, 2024.  If a referral is needed to a community provider in Fresno, the student will need to check-in with their insurance plan to see if a referral from a Student Health provider is allowable. If the waived UC SHIP member’s issue is more urgent, they too can also use LiveHealthOnline at a $59 copay or contact their insurance plan to find an in-network urgent care center.

You can find a list of clinics and some affiliates on the UCSF Health website, including primary care clinics at Mount Zion, Laurel Village, and China Basin. Acute care is offered at UCSF Screening & Acute Care Clinic at Parnassus and urgent care when it opens later this summer at Bayfront at Mission Bay.  Depending on the clinical issue or illness being treated, UCSF Health can offer video visits which can be conducted anywhere on campus that has a private room and an internet connection.  

All of our UCSF clinics provide care related to women’s health issues. Our Women’s Health Primary Care practice on the Mount Zion campus is a clinic focused on women’s health.   

Visit our site at https://transcare.ucsf.edu.  

Mental Health Services will remain the same and the services provided will not be affected. The way you schedule appointments, receive services, and participate in our clinical and outreach groups will not change. UCSF Health and Student Mental Health Services have planned for a seamless transition and referral process.  

UCSF PCPs can order labs to be drawn at Quest or LabCorp as an alternative to UCSF upon request. Currently, SHCS works directly with Quest for lab work, and that agreement will sunset.  

UCSF is required to provide tuberculosis screenings per UC policy. Traditionally, this has been done through SHCS, and we are working with Occupational Health Services to determine how we will meet that requirement after June 1. Students can get immunization authorizations through their PCP, and UCSF primary care clinics offer nurse visits for routine vaccinations like influenza.  

Some clinics have nurse-scheduled visits where you can receive screenings for sexually-transmitted infections. UCSF Health cannot always guarantee walk-ins but they recommend sending a message through the patient portal in the event that you need a screening quickly without a PCP visit.  

You have control over what primary care physician you see. You can inform your educational program that you have a conflict of interest with a faculty member and cannot be assigned to educational experiences with them.  

There are very strict guardrails in UCSF Health’s APeX medical record system that add an extra layer of confidentiality. There will be a student/trainee designation on APEX that alerts all that the record must be treated in a special manner. When accessing student and employee records, staff and physicians must provide an extra step of validation (the “Break The Glass” functionality) to demonstrate that they have a legitimate reason to access records.  

You will determine what records are transferred from SHCS to your new primary care provider and will be required to consent to that transfer before it occurs.  

Mental Health Services will remain the same, and the services you receive will not be affected. The way you schedule appointments, receive services, and participate in our clinical and outreach groups will not change. UCSF Health and Student Mental Health Services have planned for a seamless transition and referral process. 

Health insurance rates are managed at the systemwide level through the UC Student Health Insurance Plan Executive Oversight Board. Each participating UC campus has Student Health leadership and student representation on the committee. Plan benefits are determined at the systemwide level and plan design (i.e., deductibles, coinsurance, and copays) is determined at the campus level. The annual renewal of the student insurance plan looks at utilization for the prior two years of claims, medical and pharmacy trends, and the chargemaster of services billed to the plan. All of these factors influence the insurance premium. The 2024-25 plan year renewal is underway, and final rates will be available in early April.  

Yes.  

You will need to make copayments according to what is required with your insurance plan benefits. Copayments vary depending on the insurance plan and benefits included with your plan.  

We will provide this information as we approach the June 1 date.  

UCSF Health has contracts with many health insurance companies – ranging from preferred provider organizations (PPOs) to health maintenance organizations (HMOs) – to provide specialized inpatient and outpatient care. To find out whether the plan you waived UC SHIP with allows unrestricted, restricted, or no access to care at UCSF Health, please ask your health insurance company or your employer's benefit manager. If you do not have SHIP or your own private insurance, UCSF Health will work with Student Health and Counseling Services to help students sign up for UC SHIP. This program meets the required conditions of your status as a student.  

As a non-academic enrollment condition, all students must have insurance while participating in their program. The insurance enrollment and waiver application process will continue to be supported by the UC SHIP insurance office at UCSF.  

Student Health and Counseling staff members will continue to provide support for questions related to insurance benefits, complex billing issues, and insurance enrollments.   

We will provide this information when we’re closer to the June 1 transition completion date.  

Students approved for a health insurance waiver may re-enroll in UC SHIP at the beginning of any new term. To cancel your waiver, login to MyHealthRecord.ucsf.edu and send a secure message to “UCSHIP Waiver Reversal Request” prior to the start of the term for which you would like to enroll.  The form must be received within thirty (30) days of the start of the quarter for the effective date of coverage to be the quarter start date. The student must pay the entire premium for the term in which they are electing to enroll. 

If a student involuntarily loses coverage under their health insurance plan mid-term, and cannot access other coverage, they must submit to the University their intention to re-enroll in UC SHIP. To re-enroll, login to MyHealthRecord.ucsf.edu and send a secure message to “UCSHIP Waiver Reversal Request” along with an official written letter of termination from the previous health insurance carrier.  The student will be enrolled in UC SHIP as of their involuntarily loss of other coverage if they notify Student Health and Counseling Services within 31 days of their loss.  If the student does not notify the Student Health and Counseling Services within the 31 days, coverage will be effective on the date the student pays the full premium.  Mid-term enrollment does not allow for any proration of the premium. To cancel your waiver, login to MyHealthRecord.ucsf.edu and send a secure message to “UCSHIP Waiver Reversal Request” prior to the start of the term for which you would like to enroll.  

April. The UC SHIP 2024-25 plan year renewal is underway. The UCSF Student Health Advisory Committee, a committee of students, faculty, and staff from all professional schools and the graduate division, vote on the cost sharing structure. Contact your school’s representatives to let them know what your thoughts are and to hear updates as these votes are made leading into the spring. 

UCSF Health will serve as the primary care provider home for UC SHIP enrolled students. 

If you have been seen at UCSF Health primary care within the last three years, you are still considered an established patient and can contact your PCP directly to schedule a follow-up appointment.  

The counseling and psychiatry services at student health center will continue to offer care without a copay to students. The Student Health Advisory Committee will review the UC SHIP cost share structures for care provided by community providers. 

Anthem and UCSF just signed a four-year contract. Read more about it on UCSF Health’s Anthem page. 

The process to enroll depends on your insurance plan. With UCSF SHIP, there is a form on SHCS website.  

UCSF Health cannot provide care for free and will need to bill insurance companies. As a result, students will be responsible for copays determined by your insurance provider. 

The Medi-Cal program requires insured members to be enrolled in a Medi-Cal managed plan as well as receive healthcare services in the county in which they reside. The exception is for emergencies. UCSF Health Primary Care accepts the Medi-Cal programs San Francisco Health Plan and Anthem Blue Cross Medi-Cal plans that are San Francisco based.  Other Medi-Cal plans must first authorize a referral in order for a patient to get care from UCSF covered by insurance (in San Francisco or from another county).  Students in San Francisco who opt into a Medi-Cal plan through Kaiser access their primary care services through one of the Kaiser locations. Students who are unsure of whether UCSF accepts their insurance can call the number on the back of their insurance ID card to confirm if UCSF Health is within network for their plan. UCSF Health information for Insurance and Billing and Health Insurance Plans/Companies. 

Yes. A student can see any provider who is an in-network provider for their insurance company, whether the student is on UCSHIP as well as students who are on other insurance plans.    

Your primary care physician can provide multiple referrals with one primary care appointment.  The cost for each appointment will depend on the services that are associated with that appointment.  

UCSHIP can authorize referrals for students throughout the country. 

The majority of specialty departments at UCSF require referrals to ensure patients are scheduled with the right provider based on their clinical history.  

UCSF Department of Gynecology does require a referral for all appointments so that they can offer an appointment with the appropriate clinician based on the reason for the visit and clinical history.  

UCSF Health offers same-day or same week appointments for acute issues for established patients. We do not offer same day appointments for new patient appointments.  

Students may schedule an appointment in Screening and Acute Care Clinic on an urgent basis (same day) or up to 48 hours in advance if they need to see a provider at an earlier time than they are able to establish a PCP. Our providers are able to refer students to a specialty care clinic if necessary. 

In early 2023, Student Health & Counseling Services was forced to close temporarily after the departure of its Interim Medical Director. The primary care services were restored after another Interim Medical Director was identified and a temporary plan to rotate UCSF Health physicians was implemented. To better understand the full context and history of challenges the SHCS program has had at UCSF, we launched a discovery process that led to the ultimate decision to partner with UCSF Health. We are notifying students of this change now so that you can have ample time to make the necessary adjustments for your primary care.

While our practice is to engage students in decisions that affect them directly, in this situation, we have no option but to close the primary care practice at SHCS as we were unable to hire the necessary staff despite a sustained, multi-year effort. At UCSF Health, students will have access to high quality, reliable care.

Ensuring this change results in a better experience for students is important to us. We will work closely with colleagues at UCSF Health to look at access, time to appointment, and other measurements of quality of care.