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Medical Services

Frequently Asked Questions
First Time Appointments

When students enter UGA, they are automatically assigned to a primary care provider on a medical team. UHC has four primary care teams composed of physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and other support staff, and they operate much like a small doctor's office. This enables each patient to return to the same group of clinicians for continuity of care. The teams are designated by color and consist of the Medical Clinic Gold, Medical Clinic Blue, Medical Clinic Green, and Medical Clinic Red.

The first time a student visits or calls for an appointment, he/she learns about the designated team assignment. Students can also find out on OpenCommunicator, the online appointment system. From then on, the patient can schedule appointments online or call the team directly. Students can call 706-542-8617 to find out their assigned team. For information about the clinicians on your team, check out the Meet Our Staff section of the website.

Medical Clinic Gold, 706-542-8609
Medical Clinic Blue, 706-542-8654
Medical Clinic Green, 706-542-8650
Medical Clinic Red, 706-542-8636

First Time Appointments

Make an appointment using OpenCommunicator

Students visiting the health center for the first time must complete the required forms on Open Communicator using a UGA MyID account, or bring completed paper copies to their first visit. These required forms are:

1. Health History form

2. Immunization forms (including the Certificate of Immunization and the Tuberculosis Screening forms, and the additional Tuberculosis Risk Assessment form if you have risk for tuberculosis)

3. Patient Agreement form (including statements giving permission to treat you, agreement to pay charges that you may incur, and understanding of your rights to privacy and to ask questions about your care and safety)

At the first appointment, check-in early at Patient Registration where your photo ID will be scanned and your information updated. Be sure to bring your UGA photo ID for each visit. In addition, it may be helpful to review the following checklist:

* Bring your UGA ID card and your insurance card.
* Bring your medications or a list of your medications with you.
* Arrive early for your appointment (10-15 minutes) to complete forms, update your information, and check-in at the clinic. Women having annual exams need to arrive 30 minutes early to go to the lab before the appointment.
* Enter the Health Center through our new main entrance from the Ramsey loop road side of the building (not the College Station Road side).
* Consider riding the bus to avoid delays.
* Anticipate that routine general medical visits will take a minimum of an hour of your time in planning your schedule.
* Remember, it's always ok to ask questions about your care, your safety,and about costs at the University Health Center.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is a PCP?
2. Will I see the same primary care provider every time I go to the Health Center or for every problem such as UTI or PAP smears?
3. Can I change the primary care provider I'm assigned to?
4. Can I just walk in? Do I have to make an appointment?
5. Can I be seen during lunch or after hours?
6. How long will my appointment actually take?
7. What if I have an emergency and can't see my provider?
8. Can I still make appointment online?
9. Can I still be seen "after hours" in Acute Care?
10. Are you still open on the weekends?
11. I don't remember who I am supposed to see. What do I do?
12. What if I need to be seen today and my provider is out?
13. Is it necessary to make an appointment with my doctor if I only need a prescription refill?
14. What if my schedule only permits me to come after hours, and my primary care provider only works during the regular clinic hours? What should I do?
15. Who decides who my primary care provider is?
16. What if I need shots or other services when I come in to see my primary care provider. Will he or she be able to provide that for me?
17. Does it cost more to see a MD than a physician assistant (PA) or nurse practitioner (NP) or is it just one flat fee across the board?
18. What type of insurance is accepted at the Health Center, and would I need a referral from my doctor at home?
19. Will my insurance cover me seeing my primary care provider here at the Health Center?

1. What is a PCP?
Your Primary Care Provider (PCP) at UHC is a clinician (Physician, Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioner) with training, experience and expertise in managing primary care medical problems. Your PCP is the person you should see for most of your needs.

2. Will I see the same primary care provider (PCP) every time I go to the Health Center or for every problem such as UTI or PAP smears?
Your primary care provider (PCP) is the person you should see for most routine problems, but there are some conditions or needs that you should see a different clinician. For instance, for women's health issues you should contact the Women's Clinic, and for any musculoskeletal problem or sports related problem, you should contact the Medical Clinic Red/Sports Medicine. If you call for your appointment or go online to schedule an appointment, you will be guided through that process.

3. Can I change the primary care provider (PCP) I'm assigned to?
Yes, there is a simple way to change primary care providers (PCP), which might be the right thing to do for several reasons. A good person to talk to about this would be the clinic nurse, who can help you. However, changing primary care providers or 'doctor shopping' is generally not helpful for the patient and results in longer visits and increase delays.

4. Can I just walk in? Do I have to make an appointment?
The system works best if you schedule an appointment. You can walk in for a visit, but when you do you will be given an appointment time to be seen. Sometimes it might be possible to be seen before your appointment time if you are waiting and someone else fails to keep their appointment, but as a general rule this is not a good idea.

5. Can I be seen during lunch or after hours?
The UHC does NOT schedule appointments during the lunch hour or after hours. The Health Center operates an afterhours and weekend clinic for students who have urgent medical problems, such as severe vomiting, high fever, etc, that cannot wait until the next day. The UHC afterhours clinic is in Urgent Care and is staffed by only one doctor and support staff. Due to the high costs of afterhours care, this service is not completely covered by your health fee. There is a $40.00 charge in addition to the regular charges for this premium care.

6. How long will my appointment actually take?
The length of time it takes to complete a visit varies depending on the reason for the visit. While most appointment lengths are 20 minutes, you must add the time it takes to check-in and do other tasks related to the visit, such as lab tests, x-rays or other procedures. You can expect to spend at least 40 minutes for most appointments, although it may range from 30 minutes to several hours.

7. What if I have an emergency and can't see my provider?
UHC does NOT have an emergency room. If you have an emergency you should call 911 or go directly to a local hospital Emergency room.

8. Can I still make appointment online?
Absolutely and this is a preferred way to schedule your appointment. If you have trouble with the system, simply call the clinic where you need to be seen and tell the receptionist that you need to be seen today, or whichever day you prefer.

9. Can I still be seen "after hours" in Urgent Care?
The Acute Care Clinic will no longer exist. Instead we will have a minimally staffed Urgent Care clinic. The UHC does NOT have an Emergency Room, and anyone with a true emergency should go directly to one of the local hospitals or call 911. The Health Center operates an afterhours and weekend clinic for students who have urgent medical problems, such as severe vomiting, high fever, etc, that cannot wait until the next day. The UHC afterhours clinic is in Urgent Care and is staffed by only one doctor and support staff. Due to the high costs of afterhours care, this service is not completely covered by your health fee. There is a $40.00 charge in addition to the regular charges for this premium care.

10. Are you still open on the weekends?
Yes, for urgent and acute problems only such as acute injuries, lacerations, burns, high fever, vomiting, etc. It is not a place to go for routine care just for convenience reasons.

11. I don't remember who I am supposed to see. What do I do?
You can go online to make an appointment where you will see the name of your primary care provider (PCP) in your "profile" view. You can also call any medical clinic or the Patient Registration and Health Information department to find out by telephone. (UHC Telephone Directory)

12. What if I need to be seen today and my primary care provider (PCP) is out?
This is bound to happen at times. You can still be seen today by a member of your primary care provider's team. Each team is composed of several clinicians, nurses and other support staff, and when one clinician is out there are others to fill in for them.

13. Is it necessary to make an appointment with my doctor if I only need a prescription refill?
There are two answers to this question:
1. A medication REFILL may have been authorized on your original prescription and is recorded in the pharmacy and in your health record, therefore a medical visit is not required. Simply contact the pharmacy and inquire whether or not you have any refills left on your prescription.
2. A medication RENEWAL requires a discussion with your medical team nurse or primary care provider (PCP). Oftentimes, if you have already discussed your medications with your PCP, a prescription can be renewed over the telephone and a visit to the PCP is not required. For some medications there is a legal requirement to see your clinician for renewals, but not for most medications.

14. What if my schedule only permits me to come after hours, and my primary care provider (PCP) only works during the regular clinic hours? What should I do?
The after hours Urgent Care clinic, like the Acute Care Clinic before, is designed to take care of urgent problems, not routine medical matters. We do not have nor have we ever had a clinic for routine care after regular office hours.

15. Who decides who my primary care provider (PCP) is?
Primary care providers (PCP) are randomly assigned by the computer except in a few cases where a person is already seeing one clinician on a regular basis or has requested a specific primary care provider prior to the assignments. All athletes are assigned to the Red Team/Sports Medicine.

16. What if I need shots or other services when I come in to see my primary care provider (PCP)? Will he or she be able to provide that for me?
Your medical clinic team will be able to provide most of your routine needs. Most immunizations are provided in the Allergy/Travel Clinic as they always have been.

17. Does it cost more to see a MD than a physician assistant (PA) or nurse practitioner (NP) or is it just one flat fee across the board?
Currently, if you've paid the Health Fee there is no additional fee to see an MD, PA or NP; if you've not paid the Health Fee, there is a fee based upon the complexity of your visit.

18. What type of insurance is accepted at the Health Center, and would I need a referral from my doctor at home?
It's best to talk directly to the Business Office. The UHC is a participating provider only for the UGA student health insurance, Pearce & Pearce, Inc., therefore, a referral is not needed from your doctor at home. As a courtesy, UHC will file all insurances except HMOs. The filing of claims does not guarantee either full or partial payment by the insurance company. UHC Pharmacy can file claims on most insurance plans for prescriptions, whether written by UHC providers or others. (Insurance Information)

19. Will my insurance cover me seeing my primary care provider (PCP) here at the Health Center?
It's best to talk directly to the Business Office. Pearce & Pearce, Inc. (student health insurance) will pay 80% of covered charges (see brochure to understand what is covered and what is not covered). Out-of-network benefits will apply to other insurance plans. You should call your insurance company to determine if it considers the UHC to be "In-Network" or "Out-of-Network" for reimbursement purposes. Also ask about your plan's limitations and exclusions. (Insurance Information)