Mental Health Services

Student Health Services offers primary care for mental health concerns:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Panic attacks and test taking anxiety
• ADHD
• Mental Health medication management
• Initial evaluation and referral for bipolar disorder and other complex mental health conditions

Furthermore, Student Health Services has a dedicated in-house team of Psychiatric professionals to provide services for a broad range of mental health concerns. Students with a mental health concern may see Primary Care and may also be referred to Psychiatry from Primary Care. We also work collaboratively with Student Counseling Services for comprehensive care.

Sports Medicine

Dr. M. Heath Hale and Travis Coleman, ATC offer Sports Medicine visits for all enrolled UAB Students.

• 1. After his residency in Family Medicine, Dr. Hale completed a Sports Medicine Fellowship at the University of Florida and holds a Certificate of Added Qualification in Sports Medicine (CAQSM). Dr. Hale serves as the Medical Director of UAB Athletics. Sports Medicine visits can be booked for any recreational or intramural-related injury, and any other acute or chronic musculoskeletal condition. The Student Health Services Clinic has on-site lab and x-ray for convenience, and referral relationships with Physical Therapy and Orthopedics when necessary.
• Travis Coleman completed his Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training at The University of West Alabama in Livingston, Alabama. Travis also went on to pursue a Master's of Science in Kinesiology while completing a Graduate Assistant position at Augusta University in Augusta, Georgia. Travis has had experience in secondary schools and majority of his experience in the collegiate settings.
• Athletic Trainers are housed on the lower level of UAB Campus Recreation and sports medicine visits are available during normal business hours. To schedule an appointment, please visit the Campus Recreation Training Room for assistance.

Athletic Trainer Appointment Form

Sexual & Reproductive Health

• Annual exams
• Comprehensive contraceptive consultations
• STD screening exams and labs
• Acute and chronic gynecologic conditions
• HPV vaccination
• IUD placement and removal
• Nexplanon placement and removal
• Colposcopy
• Referral services as appropriate
• HIV PrEP
• Gender Transition Care

Registered Dietitian

Thank you for your interest with nutrition counseling at UAB Student Health and Wellness!

Please log in to your patient portal to contact and set up nutrition appointments with the RD.

1. Log in to Blazernet
2. Click Patient Portal
3. Click Messages, then New Message
4. Choose "Clinician for some Other reason"
5. Find Clinician name Rachel Knight, MS, RD, LD
6. Compose and Send

Rachel will then respond to your message and determine the best date and time to schedule your initial nutrition counseling session. These sessions can be conducted in person or virtually through Zoom.

Immunizations & TB Tests

205-934-3580 or by accessing the Patient Portal.

Immunization, Titer Test, and TB Skin Test appointments are scheduled from 8:00 am - 11:30 am and 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm.

TB skin tests are not placed after 3 p.m. on Wednesdays and are not placed at all on Thursdays. The T-spot (TB blood test) is drawn Monday thru Friday from 8:00 am - 11:30 am and 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm.

For all other immunization needs, please schedule an immunization appointment. Only one appointment is necessary to meet all of your immunization needs. Upon arrival, please let an immunization nurse know of all of your needs.

MEDICAL CLEARANCE

Allergy Clinic

UAB Student Health Services(SHS) administers allergy immunotherapy (injections) as a service to our students. We do not provide allergy testing, mixing of extract(s), or immunotherapy education and instruction. The first shot from your extract MUST be performed by your allergist. SHS will store your extract(s) in a temperature-monitored refrigerator, administer your allergy shot under a physician’s supervision, and provide emergency treatment in case of a reaction to your allergy shots.

Prior to receiving allergy injections at SHS, patients must be established with a SHS clinician, to review your medical history and medications. We require orders to be signed by your allergist and submitted to SHS by fax or mail. We DO NOT accept verbal orders for dosage adjustments. We may need to contact your allergist to clarify dosages or to request necessary information.

Before receiving allergy shots at SHS, we require your allergist to provide the requested information and to sign the UAB SHS “Allergy Injection Protocol and Consent” form. Please check with your Allergist to ensure that our request for information was received.

Allergy Injection Protocol And Consent for Allergist Allergy Injection Guideline and Patient Agreement

ADHD

In order to continue providing high quality, evidence-based care of ADHD to students, this guideline describes the clinic process of evaluation and treatment of ADHD related concerns. Students often struggle with focusing, planning or staying motivated for meeting academic deadlines. Studies show there are other factors that could cause similar struggles other than ADHD.

ADHD symptoms often present in childhood with notable difficulty in different areas of functioning. If these symptoms have just emerged after the student arrived to undergraduate or graduate school, a careful evaluation is necessary to determine if the sole cause of these symptoms are due to a diagnosis of ADHD. Therefore, we require documentation to verify ADHD symptoms causing difficulty in functioning were present before age 12, according to DSM 5.

1. Students seeking care for new ADHD concerns without supporting medical records will be scheduled for an initial evaluation with a provider to determine treatment recommendation based on clinical judgment. This will be handled on a case-by-case basis. The recommendation could be a different diagnosis that explains symptoms with corresponding treatment and/or referral for additional testing if needed.
2. Students seeking to continue ADHD treatment with supporting medical records verifying presence of difficulty in functioning that was due to ADHD prior age 12 will be scheduled for initial visit after receiving and reviewing these documentations. Students should plan accordingly to ensure continuing medication from prior or current prescriber during the process of transferring care to Student Health Services.
   
   Acceptable documentations include detailed medical records of diagnostic evaluation and treatment, in addition to a neuropsychological testing report. Students may be required to obtain an updated testing report based on clinical judgment of the provider. Please note testing report alone is insufficient to determine ADHD diagnosis. Prior prescription information or summary letter of treatment from providers are not sufficient, but could be additional information.
3. Supporting records from student or previous provider may be faxed to 205- 975-6193, dropped off at our front office or mailed to the student health address.
4. After review of documents, the student may schedule another appointment to review and transfer or initiate medication treatment.
5. Students are required to complete a stimulant medication contract if prescribed.
6. The extent of general medical evaluation prior to initiating stimulants should include measurement of blood pressure, heart rate, review of past medical, family, social and surgical history, and pertinent review of systems. EKG, laboratory studies, and imaging studies are done only if otherwise indicated by the history and exam.
7. Students may complete the above process initially with a SHS Primary Care Provider or SHS Psychiatric specialist. If there is diagnostic uncertainty or other complicating factors, a SHS Primary Care Provider may refer to SHS Psychiatric services for consultation.

References

• Assessment of Adult ADHD With College Students
  Morgan B. Drake, Cynthia A. Riccio, Nicole Svenkerud Hale. J Atten Disord 2019 Dec;23(14):1729-1735. doi: 10.1177/1087054717698222. Epub 2017 Mar
• Correlates of Poor Sleep and Subsequent Risk of Misdiagnosis in College Students Presenting with Cognitive Complaints
  Elana M. Gloger, Julie A. Suh. Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 2020 Aug 28;35(6):692-670. doi: 10.1093/arclin/acaa023
• Symptoms of ADHD and Academic Concerns in College Students With and Without ADHD Diagnoses
  Lawrence J. Lewandowski. J Atten Disord. 2008 Sep;12(2):156-61. doi: 10.1177/1087054707310882. Epub 2008 Jan
• Practice Parameter for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Parameters/jaacap_adhd_2007
• Adult ADHD: Evaluation and Treatment in Family Medicine H. Russell Searight, John m. Burke, Fred Rottnek., Am Fam Physician. 2000 Nov 1;62(9):2077-208

Disability Documentation

UAB Student Health Services Disability
Accommodation Request Documentation Protocol:

UAB Student Health Services (SHS) strives to provide all students with timely and appropriate care to promote their academic success. Students access SHS for a wide variety of medical conditions, some of which rise to the level of a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act:

“A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.”

This protocol is designed to provide a structured process and guidance for students and clinicians to assess and document disability accommodations requests.

1. All students who wish to initiate the process of requesting Disability Support Services (DSS) Accommodations from SHS may book a “DSS Consult” visit via the patient portal or by calling. This visit is intended to be the first step in assessing the disability and requested/recommended accommodations.
2. Students are expected to complete the pre-visit “Consent and Request for SHS Documentation to DSS” form in the patient portal. This form will launch automatically in the portal when the visit is scheduled. Failure to complete this prior to the visit, or intentionally booking a different visit type for the purposes of requesting DSS documentation, may result in the visit being rescheduled or further delays in assessment and documentation.
3. SHS providers will have a discussion with the student during their visit(s) regarding required documentation and any information the student would prefer to be included or not included in their documentation.
4. Due to the detailed nature of an evaluation for disability and the detailed documentation required to demonstrate a relationship between a medical condition and resulting level of impairment, SHS providers may request a minimum of three office visits, at least one of which is in-person (as opposed to a virtual video visit), over a minimum of 6 weeks, to be able to provide relevant and detailed information in support of a student’s application for accommodations. One of these visits may be a “DSS Consult” visit as mentioned above but is not required to be.
1. SHS providers also may request additional visits or evaluation beyond the guideline above in order to adequately assess and document a student’s condition and impairment.
2. In cases where diagnosis and/or level of impairment is unclear, SHS providers may recommend provisional accommodations while the student undergoes further evaluation.
3. In cases in which the student-requested diagnosis or accommodations are not supported by the historical and clinical information, SHS providers may decline to provide DSS documentation.
4. Certain temporary disabilities, as determined by the SHS provider, may not necessitate the minimum visits/time listed above and SHS providers may provide DSS documentation as appropriate. Common examples of this include uncomplicated concussion recovering as expected and musculoskeletal injuries causing temporary mobility impairments.
5. SHS providers may refer a student to a specialty provider in complex cases needing specialty evaluation. Referral to a specialist is not a guarantee that the specialist will be able to provide DSS documentation.
6. Once adequate clinical information is obtained to provide DSS documentation, a letter will be provided within approximately two weeks of the last visit.
7. SHS providers will provide the documentation directly to the student via PDF in the patient portal.
8. It is the student’s responsibility to deliver the documentation to UAB DSS.
9. Ultimately DSS determines whether or not there is sufficient documentation to approve reasonable accommodation(s). A letter of support provided by UAB SHS does not guarantee approval of a student’s application and granting of accommodations.
10. Students are not required to go through SHS for DSS evaluation and documentation. If a student already has a well-established healthcare provider for the disability for which they are requesting accommodations, this provider is typically positioned most optimally to provide documentation.
11. For more information on the UAB DSS process, please see https://www.uab.edu/students/disability/.

Please refer to the updated COVID-19 guidelines from the CDC at https://www.cdc.gov/ncird/whats-new/updated-respiratory-virus-guidance.html.

Telemedicine

Student Health Services is proud to offer telemedicine visits. These are virtual medical appointments that will be conducted through Doximity, which is a HIPAA compliant platform specially designed for secure telemedicine video conferencing and used across the UAB system for telemedicine. You will need a phone or tablet with a camera and the ability to receive text messages. You will receive a text message with a video link from the healthcare provider to join the visit around the scheduled time, and you do not need to download an app. Plan to be located in a quiet, private place in order to protect your personal health information. If you or your provider are unable to connect, the visit may be transitioned to another video chat platform, telephone, or may be rescheduled.

To schedule a Telemedicine visit, please call (205) 934-3580 or web-book on the portal here.

You must be located in the state of Alabama at the time of the telemedicine visit to utilize UAB SHS telemedicine services, due to licensure requirements. If that is not possible and you need help, Student Health Services is still available to assist your needs and provide information and directions for a plan of care. If you have questions about this, or are unsure if you can be seen or not, please send a portal message to the clinic nurse or your provider, or call (205) 934-3580 to discuss further.

Referrals

Students who have the SHIP must obtain a referral for all visits outside of Student Health Services (SHS). Visits for mental health, OB/GYN, and orthopedics do not require a referral. For students with private insurance coverage, referrals are offered as needed.

• SHS has a full time coordinator to assist you with your needs.
• Referrals are made as appropriate and within and outside the UAB Health System.
• Most referral appointments or procedures are scheduled for you before you leave the office.
• In some instances, referral requests may not need an appointment with a SHS provider. For questions pertaining to this, please contact the SHS Referral Coordinator through the Patient Portal or call 205-996-5764. You may also send a message HERE
• If you have the SHIP or have an insurance that has identified SHS as your Primary Care Provider and you are referred by the emergency department or an outside office/physician, please let SHS know as soon as possible to ensure all needed precertifications are obtained.

Prescription Services

All medical providers are licensed to write prescriptions, either printed on site and provided to the student at the time of the visit or sent electronically to the student's pharmacy of choice.

For the safety of our patients, refill requests from pharmacies are not accepted. To minimize errors inherent in automated refill requests, patients are required to request refills directly.

Refills of ongoing medications are best obtained during regular office visits. They can also be requested via the Patient Portal. For those patients who prefer to call, refill requests may be called in to our clinic nurse line by dialing (205) 975-7756.

Please allow two business days for refill requests to be processed. For this reason, patients are encouraged to keep a close eye on their medications and to request refills in a timely manner. In most cases, regular refills will not be accepted by the on-call provider after office hours. We respectfully decline to refill routine medications during these interaction.

If you need a refill prior to your next scheduled appointment, please log into your Patient Portal and send us a request through secure messaging, or call during normal business hours to request a refill. There are some prescriptions that cannot be refilled over the phone and may require an office visit with your primary care provider. You can schedule an appointment through the Patient Portal for these.

There is no on-site pharmacy at UAB Student Health Services Clinic. Patients should plan to purchase their medicines at a free-standing retail pharmacy, such as CVS or Walgreens, or at a pharmacy within a grocery store.

On-Site Lab & X-Ray

On-Site Lab & X-Ray services are available. These services will be billed to your insurance. For students enrolled in the Student Health Insurance plan, most services performed on-site are not subject to deductible and coinsurance. For students enrolled in other health insurance plans, an insurance claim will be filed for these services and you will be billed for any applicable co-pays, deductibles, and coinsurance per your plan’s contracted allowable amount. For students not enrolled in health insurance, these services will be billed directly to you with any applicable self-pay discounts per UAB Billing Services.

Medical Records Release

If you need to request medical records to be sent to an outside provider from UAB Student Health, please fill out the medical record release form and submit it to Student Health. This form may also be used to request outside records be sent to UAB Student Health.

This form does not apply to UAB Hospital or UAB’s The Kirklin Clinic.

• Fax to (205)975-6193
• Mail to:
  1714 9th Ave South,
  3rd Floor LRC, Ste. 300,
  Birmingham, Al 35294

This release form information applies only to records kept by UAB Student Health Services.

If you need to request records from UAB Hospital please call (205) 930-7724 or fax (205) 930-6721

If you need to request records from The Kirklin Clinic, you will need to contact the individual doctors offices directly. Please call (205) 801-8000.

MEDICAL RECORD RELEASE FORM