Health Beat

Column by Dona Koenigsman, Student Health Director

Hello, I hope your Halloween was fabulous. No holiday related injuries have been reported to Student Health, which makes me think you all followed the rules of costume safety.

I saw some great costumes around the area on Saturday. I went as Dracula and scored lots of candy with my kids. Other adults feed you when you dress up, did you know that? It was a new fact for me.

H1N1

We are giving our first few doses of H1N1 vaccine this week. High-risk students have been contacted about clinic times and places this week. If I have not notified you, it’s most likely because you are being shifted to the next group to receive vaccine. We won’t know until Wednesday or Thursday if we get more vaccine on Monday.

New Happenings:

Student Health is changing how we schedule students and how we charge students. We have been planning to start using Highland Health for our insurance billing, and they are letting us use their software for several daily tasks.

I am really excited about this change. If you were using a different clinic because you needed to use your insurance card, here’s a chance to change to the obvious. We are cheaper, more convenient and so efficient. We have medications on site that are affordable and you won’t have to drive to the pharmacy. Vaccinations are covered under a lot of insurance plans, and we’re the best place to stop.

How it will work:

FHSU Student Health Center will make sure all students have the chance to get health care, no matter how they pay for services.

The amount of money that we charge is based upon the type and complexity of the service and procedures we provide.

Soon, we will be able to bill your health insurance for visits to our clinic. We will accept the Student United Healthcare insurance, any private insurance, or you can pay for your services.

What you will pay:

When you visit the clinic, you will be responsible for a co-payment, (a fee determined by your insurance plan). At Student Health, the co-pay is due at the time of your appointment. You can look on the front of your insurance card to find the amount of your co-pay. Some insurance cards may not have the co-pay printed on the card.

If you don’t understand your card, we can help you or you can call the number on the back of the card to ask questions about your co-pay.

In January, we will begin accepting student health insurance. Don’t forget your card.

You must not only present your Tiger Card but also your insurance card at the time of service so Student Health can begin the insurance billing process. Be prepared to pay your co-pay.

Other exciting changes:

Our Web site is being updated and soon, students will be able to enter their personal information, schedule their own appointments and enter their health history.

This will be part of our new software and will cut down on your time in the waiting room. You will have the option of doing the computer entry from your own terminal or from a terminal in our lobby.

When you set your appointment, you can fit it into your schedule, tell us what is wrong and fill out a brief update about yourself.

When you arrive, no more watching “that dude” over there getting in sooner than you; the endless questions in the exam room are going to ease up because you already beat them to it, and maybe you’ll be out in record time.

We are not only making this change to the Web site but many others as well.

Make sure to check us out when the new site is launched. And as always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. I hope all of you have a good weekend.