What to Expect During Your Visit

Upon arrival, please check in at the front desk.
You may be asked to fill out a slip with basic information, including your name and pronouns and the reason for your visit, to help maintain your privacy and confidentiality.
- If you have any Covid-like symptoms, you’ll be asked to fill out a symptom check form. If you answer yes to any of the symptoms, you will be asked to take a COVID test. For more details, visit our COVID information page.
Please wait in the waiting area until a medical provider calls your name.

During your visit, the provider will take a history of your illness and check vital signs such as temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure.
A physical assessment may also be necessary depending on the reason for your visit. A physical assessment may include in-house tests (e.g. Strep, Flu, pregnancy tests) or outside lab testing (e.g., blood draw, urine sample, swab).
If your visit requires an X-ray or other imaging (ultrasound, MRI), you will be referred off-campus.
Referrals to specialists off-campus may also be provided if necessary.
If you need assistance with transportation to your off-campus appointments, please alert Emmons staff for help connecting to transportation options.

Medical providers will disclose lab results via phone and/or secure message.
- STI screening results typically take 2-3 days, though timing can vary depending on the specific test and lab.

Depending on the medication, it can be dispensed directly from Emmons or sent to a pharmacy of your choice.
- If your medication is being dispensed from Emmons, we can give you up to a 90 day supply.
- If you need your prescription from a pharmacy, you may look into medication delivery directly to your student mailbox through home delivery pharmacies. Check with your health insurance to see which pharmacies are covered. CVS on York Blvd offers 1-2 day delivery.
- If it is inconvenient to pick up your prescriptions monthly, you can contact your insurance and/or the pharmacy to get prescriptions dispensed in larger quantities.
- When Oxy postal services receive your prescriptions they will send you an email to come pick them up during regular hours (Monday–Friday, 10am–4pm). If the package is perishable, they will include this in the email description and let you know to pick it up ASAP.

Medical History Questions

Emmons Health professionals have access to your previous medical history which all students are required to fill out as part of the first-year medical clearance process.Students are encouraged to update any changes to their medical history via the student patient portal prior to their visit. If you would like assistance asking for sensitive care from your provider, please see the pamphlet from Project SAFE. This pamphlet may be handed to the front desk or your provider at your visit.

During a patient visit, the provider may ask questions about:

The history of your current illness, including details based on your presenting problem and symptoms.
Your general physical and mental health and overall well-being
Your sexual and relationship health
Your alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and/or other drug use
Present or past trauma

Sexual Activity Questions

Suppose you are having symptoms of an STI (sexually transmitted infection), are looking for STI screening, or are interested in birth control. In that case, the Emmons medical provider may ask you specific questions about your sexual activity and sexual health history – including partner preference, how many partners you have had recently, and any previous STIs.

These questions are meant to help diagnose and prevent further illness, but it is your right to decline to answer any questions you don’t want to answer.

Privacy

Emmons medical providers are required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to protect the privacy and confidentiality of their patients. This means Emmons medical providers cannot disclose the details of your visit or diagnosis with anyone unless you choose to share this information with others with written permission.

There are a few exceptions in which medical providers must break confidentiality and are obligated to report:

If you are a danger to yourself or others
If they suspected any abuse or neglect
Certain infections to the Public Health Department

Your medical provider will let you know if they are mandated to report something but will maintain privacy as much as possible.

Your medical information is private from your parents. Some things to note:

If your visit isn’t covered by insurance, the itemization of services is sent to you via a secure message.
Amounts are charged to your student account as a charge from “Emmons”; it does not show any details about your medical visit.
If you wish to pay with a check without the cost of your visit being charged to your student account, please let Emmons staff know during your visit.

Even if you are on your parents’ insurance, your parents cannot access your medical or mental health records without written consent from you. However, they will be able to see what services are being billed for and from where.
If you are over 18, you can contact your health insurance provider and request that other subscribers are blocked from having access to your claims history (which can divulge care and diagnosis).
You can request from your health or mental health care provider that your claims be sent to your on-campus mailbox instead of your parents’ address.

You can always access free urgent and non-urgent telehealth medical visits by using TimelyCare, which is free for all Oxy students regardless of insurance, and does not bill insurance for visits. (If the provider determined that you needed a lab test or prescription, you would need to pay out-of-pocket or your insurance would be billed for those services.) TimelyCare is only available for students over 18 years old, or with parent permission for students under 18.

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