Student Health Services at Ohio State offers a vast range of medical care, while maintaining low fees, but their accessibility may be anything but a model of perfection for Big Ten health programs.
Inevitably, every student will have to deal with the student health services, whether it is having to be treated, or simply canceling the insurance on an account statement.
Some students who have used health services have walked away frustrated and confused at the service they provide.
“I don’t get it. We’re students who go to class during the day and if we get sick, we’ll go see them at night or on the weekend – exactly when Student Health Services isn’t open,” said Jeanne Goshe, an undecided sophomore. “Whenever you need to be seen, you can’t be.”
The program is far more complex than it seems.
“We serve nearly 60,000 people a year – that must attest to our availability,” said John Ford, assistant director of the Student Health Services.
Ford said he does recognize the need for after-hour care and suggests that students seek help at local urgent care clinics or the emergency room. Under the comprehensive health insurance, which costs $1,065 per year, these have a respective copayment of $25 and $75.
The University of Cincinnati, where the students pay $957 per year, has also faced similar complaints.
“We tried evening hours a few years back,” said Dr. John Andrews, director of Cincinnati’s Health Services. “The patients weren’t coming in because they needed to, but simply because the wait was less.”
Cincinnati does offer a 24-hour, seven-days-per-week phone service with a licensed physician who has the ability to, but rarely will, prescribe medicine over the phone.
Four of the eleven schools in the Big Ten maintain at least some open hours during the weekend. Northwestern University has the greatest availability – 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., seven days per week.
“We do it because we think it’s a nice service,” said Don Misch, assistant director of Student Health Services at Northwestern. “A lot of the availability for schools depends on location. If you’re in larger city, those in need can find help other places if they have to.”
Student health insurance at Northwestern is $1,397 per year.
Misch, Ford and Andrews agree that cost is the primary factor in determining availability.
“We are funded primarily on a fee per service system,” Ford said. “OSU does not charge students a health fee like most schools.”
There is no student health service fee beyond the insurance cost at either Northwestern or Cincinnati.
“Excellent care, excellent access with the least cost is the mantra,” Andrews said. “When the medical center is open on the weekends and in the evening, per patient care given makes it more expensive for everyone.”
The attitude at OSU is similar.
“In a perfect world if cost was not an issue, everyone would have evening hours,” Ford said. “It’s difficult to create enough revenue at night to cover the cost, so we have to cross subsidize to make up for it. That would just make it more expensive for everyone all the time.”
Under the comprehensive plan, OSU’s SHS provides physicians in sports medicine, optometry, allergy services, injection therapy, internal medicine, radiology, women’s services, student wellness and physical therapy.
If you want to see a physician and it is not urgent, it is best to make an appointment, Ford said. Each day, only 40 percent of the patients seen are by appointment, and the other 60 percent are walk-ins who are assessed on an emergency triage system. The patients with less urgent needs are left to a first come, first serve basis.
