Prepare for Your Appointment

How to prepare for your visit with Student Health and Counseling Services

Before all appointments

Read up. View the patient rights and responsibilities and the privacy policy.
Confirm your local address. Check your profile on Health e-Messenger to ensure it has the address where you currently reside.
Gather paperwork. Need us to sign a form for work-study, transfers, diving classes, etc.? Complete the form as much as possible and bring it to your appointment.
Be on time. A missed appointment fee is $25. Avoid the fee by contacting us before your appointment starts. Be sure to allow yourself time to find parking or travel from your location.
Privacy. If you’re enrolled in UC SHIP and want to receive your Explanation of Benefits (EOB) electronically, please refer to the instructions in our FAQ section. If you have private insurance, you’ll need to contact your insurance company and request a Confidential Communications Request form.

Reschedule if needed. To cancel or reschedule 24 hours in advance, go to Health e-Messenger’s “appointments” section and choose the “cancel appointment” link. To cancel or reschedule with less than 24 hours’ notice, call the Student Health Center at (831) 459-2500 or CAPS at (831) 459-2628.

Student Health Center visits

Anyone experiencing respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough, runny nose, and/or sore throat) must wear a mask when visiting any UCSC Student Health Services building. Masks help protect both the wearer and others from communicable diseases.

In-person appointments

Allow extra time to find parking. We have limited metered parking spaces. The nearest large parking area is Core West, and there is limited parking near Crown College. Pay with the Park Mobile App.
Arrive 20–30 minutes early to allow for check-in.
Service dogs are welcome at Student Health Services; however, emotional support animals cannot be brought into our buildings. This is in accordance with UCSC campus policy.
Arriving on time: To ensure we stay on schedule and provide the best care possible, patients who arrive more than 9 minutes late may need to be rescheduled.
In consideration of our chemically sensitive patients, please do not wear scented products to your appointment.
Bring a list of all medications you are taking.
Visitors may be asked to wait in the reception area.

Telehealth Appointments

Please make sure you are in a private location and allow 20-40 minutes to complete your visit. If you schedule a phone call appointment, staff will contact you at the number you provided.

If you have a Zoom appointment:

Log in to Health e-Messenger 15 minutes prior to your appointment.
Select view/schedule an appointment.
Click the appointment check-in button and complete the check-in process.
A Medical Assistant will call you 10–15 minutes before your appointment to review your medical history. Please make sure your phone is not set to “Do Not Disturb.”
When your provider is available, a join meeting Zoom link will display on the appointments page.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) visits

Please make sure you are in a private location and allow 60 minutes to complete your visit. If you scheduled a phone call appointment, staff will contact you at the number you provided.

If you have a Zoom appointment, here’s how to prepare:

Log in to Health e-Messenger:
- 15 minutes prior to your appointment for Follow-Up appointments
- 30 minutes prior to your appointment for Initial Assessment appointments
Select View/Schedule an Appointment.
Click the Appointment Check-In button and complete the check-in process.
Next, select Consent Forms to complete all required consents.
When your provider is available, a Join Meeting Zoom link will display on the Appointments page.