SUBJECT:

Student Health Billing and Implementation of Late/No-Show Fee

Dear UCSD Students,

Effective Fall Quarter, 2006, Student Health Service (SHS) will institute a new automated billing process, for currently registered students, which allows you to have any fees or charges incurred at SHS automatically billed to your UCSD Student Account. With the introduction of automated student account billing, you will no longer need to stand in line at the cashier for every transaction. This should be a more convenient and timesaving way to pay for your services at SHS. Alternatively, you will have the option of paying directly for services at the time of your visit.

A second change being introduced this fall quarter is in response to an observed decreased availability of same-day appointments and an increase in the number of days until the next available routine appointment. In analyzing our appointment utilization for the 2005-2006 academic year, we observed that an increasing number of appointment slots go unused because students either fail to appear for their appointment or cancel their appointment at the last minute, preventing us from scheduling that appointment slot with another student. This has created unacceptable delays in appointment availability for all our students wishing to be seen at UCSD SHS. We are therefore implementing a $10 fee for late cancellations or "no shows."

Effective September 20, 2006, the UCSD Student Health Service will begin charging a $10 late-cancellation/no show fee. This fee will be applied to all students who:

· Cancel their appointment less than 4 hours before their scheduled appointment

· Do not appear for their scheduled appointment

· Arrive for their appointment too late to be seen during their scheduled appointment

To avoid being charged this $10 fee, you must call our 24-hour cancellation line at 534-1770, or cancel your appointment online, preferably 1 day before, but no less than 4 hours before your appointment.

For appointments made online, you may also choose to have a reminder message sent to you on your pager or cell phone. It may also be helpful for you to jot down or log any appointment you make at SHS in your calendar or PDA, to help you remember when your appointment at SHS is scheduled.

Please be aware that your compliance with our late-cancellation and no show requirements affects both availability of same-day appointments and length of time to next available appointments for all students. Thank you for your cooperation in this area.

B.J. Murray, MD, FACP Assistant Vice Chancellor Student Health and Wellness Student Affairs