Your Guide to Student Health Care at UCSF

Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS) provides comprehensive primary care and mental health care at two clinics.

The Mission Bay clinic is located on the third floor of the William J. Rutter Community Center, and the Parnassus clinic is located on the P8 Level of Millberry Union West.

SHCS also provides wellness-related workshops and programs across campuses. These services are available to all registered UCSF students, regardless of whether they have waived the UC Student Health Insurance Plan (UC SHIP). (Exception: a student who has applied for reduced fees as a “Student Employee” does not have access to SHCS.)

Services at Student Health

Student Health offers comprehensive primary care, urgent care, immunizations, physicals and preventive health examinations, mental health counseling, nursing advice and triage, alcohol and drug consultations, nutrition services, travel consultations and will assist in coordinating your specialty care.

SHCS is the first point of contact for students and enrollees and will help coordinate all your health care needs.

These services are available to all registered UCSF students, regardless of whether they have waived the UC SHIP. For details on services please visit: http://studenthealth.ucsf.edu/healthcare-services

Primary care visits can be scheduled online at https://myhealthrecord.com.  The link to the scheduling system can be found on the SHCS homepage.

**Please note there may be a fee for some services if you have waived UC SHIP, and those students classified as a student employee do not have access to Student Health and Counseling Services.

Counseling and psychological services

SHCS offers short-term mental health counseling at both Mission Bay and Parnassus clinics for all registered students and UC SHIP enrollees. To schedule an appointment at SHCS, call or visit Student Health and ask to speak to a nurse about mental health appointments.

If additional therapy or long-term therapy is required, enrollees will be referred to a therapist outside SHCS. For those covered under the UC SHIP, visits with an in-network provider are covered 100% after a $15 co-payment. Out- of-network providers are covered at 60% after the $200 annual deductible.

SHCS also offers an after-hours mental health crisis and counseling hotline. Contracted therapists provide telephone intake, assessment and crisis counseling services during non-working hours Monday through Friday and 24 hours a day on holidays and weekends. To connect with a therapist, call SHCS at (415) 476-1281 and select option 7.

Wellness programs and outreach

SHCS offers programs every quarter for all registered students and enrollees. Wellness programs and outreach include workshops, lectures, small group series discussion and health education to improve health and promote personal success.

This fall, programming includes Suicide Awareness Week: Out of the Silence; Success Series; Dry Saloon: Alcohol Awareness; Speed Friending; Fall Nutrition Series, including Healthy Steps, Nutrition for Women, Sports Nutrition, Mindful Eating, Food for Thought and Simmer Cooking Classes; Unwind: Stress Management Skills for Women, Perks of Being an Introvert and International Education Month. Visit http://studenthealth.ucsf.edu/wellness for updates and the full fall quarter calendar.

UC SHIP Insurance Benefits

UC SHIP covers health care services provided by non-Student Health practitioners and clinics. All medically necessary, specialty care, hospital stays, physical therapy, acupuncture and chiropractic care, prescriptions, lab tests, radiology services and more are covered by the plan if authorized by a SHCS provider.  Primary care services are provided by SHCS. 

If you are out of area, you may request a referral to primary care from SHCS.  No primary care services outside SHCS are covered without a referral.

All UCSF students are automatically enrolled in UC SHIP unless an online waiver application is submitted and approved. Eligibility begins for new students at the start of their program.

Coverage for continuing Graduate Division and continuing School of Medicine students began September 1. Coverage for continuing School of Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy and Physical Therapy students begins September 11.

UC SHIP complies with major Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) benefits. Benefits added for the 2013-14 plan year include no annual or lifetime limits on medical and behavioral health benefits, unlimited pharmacy prescription drug benefits, no caps on essential health benefits such as chiropractic care and osteopathic manipulation, air ambulance, durable medical equipment, home health care, hospice care, physical therapy, physical medicine, occupational and speech therapy, skilled nursing facility and gender reassignment surgery.  The plan also has no pre-existing condition restrictions.

UC SHIP also provides for dental and vision benefits. For a complete summary of the UC SHIP benefits, please visit the Student Health and Counseling website: http://studenthealth.ucsf.edu .

** UC SHIP Member ID cards for all enrolled students will be mailed mid-September. In the meantime, you can contact Student Health and Counseling to request a temporary ID. **

Feedback

SHCS is your partner in managing your health. If you have an idea about how SHCS can improve services or if you have any questions, please let us know. Feel free to contact Executive Director Susan Rosen, MD, or Director Adele Anfinson, MHA, or submit an anonymous message by clicking the Feedback link at the bottom of our website. Student Health and Counseling Services is here to serve you.

Refer to our website, http://studenthealth.ucsf.edu, or call us at (415) 476-1281 for more information.