You may see your primary care provider once a year for a checkup or visit us more often if you have an injury, illness, chronic condition or another medical issue that calls for in-person appointments.
Either way, you'll naturally have questions and concerns about the process. Learn more about your care team, including how to communicate with providers, view test results and refill medications.
At UCSF Health, we welcome patients from every part of the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. We're known for our outstanding team-based approach to health care. Whether your medical needs are simple or complex, our providers work together to ensure the best possible care.
For some people, an annual checkup and blood tests are all they need. Others require treatment for anything from infections or broken bones to chronic or serious illnesses.
Depending on your medical situation, your care team may include:
Everyone on the team has access to your health records. This allows team members to share information as needed and to collaboratively determine the most effective care and appropriate providers for you.
Your primary care provider may be a doctor, nurse practitioner, physician assistant or certified nurse-midwife. These care team members are qualified to:
MyChart makes it simple to communicate with your providers, see medical records, check test results, make appointments and more. When you have a UCSF MyChart account, you can easily:
If you don't already have an account, you can create one here. Need help? Ask at your next appointment or call MyChart customer service at (415) 514-6000 (available 24 hours a day, seven days a week).
Messaging health care providers in MyChart
You may have straightforward, nonurgent questions or updates for your providers. The best way to share these is through MyChart. A response may take up to three business days. Messages are reviewed Monday through Friday during business hours.
To send a message, log in to your UCSF MyChart through a web browser or an app (free in the Apple and Google Play app stores) and choose "Messages." From there, follow the prompts.
When choosing a recipient, you'll see a list of providers available to message.
For some health issues, the care team may recommend making an appointment. You can schedule one in the "Visits" section of MyChart or by calling the clinic.
Seeing test results in MyChart
We ensure that you can view your health information as soon as it becomes available. That means you'll see most test results in your MyChart as soon as they're complete, and you may see them before your care team does. Please give us three business days to review the results and let you know our thoughts.
We review every test result and will contact you about any concerns. If you have questions about the results after seeing them and reading providers' comments, please message your care team via MyChart.
Note: In keeping with California law, some radiology, pathology and genetic test results are not available in MyChart for five days. This time frame gives providers more time to review results before they're posted. Find out more about the availability of test results in MyChart.
If you're having an emergency, call 911. If the problem is not an emergency but you need care as soon as possible, call the clinic (don't use MyChart). Outside regular hours, visit our urgent care page to find UCSF and UCSF-affiliated urgent care clinics and a phone number for an advice nurse – or head to an urgent care clinic near you.
To ensure you get the care you need, we require a scheduled visit for certain nonurgent issues. For example:
Schedule an appointment by calling the clinic or going to the "Visits" section of MyChart.
Fees for phone calls and messages
Most phone calls and messages to and from your care team are free. But if a response requires medical expertise and more than a few minutes of a provider's time, it may be billed to your insurance.
Learn more about getting medical advice through MyChart messages.
Please note that medication refills are approved only if one of our providers has seen you in the last 12 months.
Requesting refills
The fastest way to refill medications is to ask the pharmacy to submit an electronic request to our office. Please allow us three business days to process these requests. We recommend opting in for automatic refills and mailed prescriptions from your pharmacy, if available.
You can also send a MyChart message to your care team to request a refill. Processing your request takes a few days, so don't wait until the last minute.
Use of some drugs (such as medications for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) is legally restricted, so you might not be allowed to pick up a refill before a certain day. Give your care team plenty of time to approve the refill before your current supply runs out. Then you can pick up your prescription or have it delivered on the earliest date allowed.
Schedule an annual medical appointment
If we don't see you for specific needs during the year, schedule a checkup every year. That way, when you need a medication refilled, you won't be scrambling to make an appointment with your provider.
Using a different pharmacy?
If you've moved your prescriptions to a different pharmacy, refills may still be on order at the old one. Be sure to ask the new pharmacy to transfer them. They'll need the name, location and phone number of the previous one.
UCSF Health medical specialists have reviewed this information. It is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or other health care provider. We encourage you to discuss any questions or concerns you may have with your provider.
