Frequently Asked Questions

UVA Care Connection FAQ

What is UVA Care Connection?

UVA Care Connection is a service of the Health System to facilitate scheduling of appointments for the UVA family to UVA services.

Who may use this service?

Effective January 4, 2010, all Health System employees and their family members will be eligible to use UVA Care Connection. This includes faculty as well as Health Services Foundation employees.

UVA Care Connection will be extended to employees, faculty and family members of the University of Virginia on February 1, 2010.

Who counts as a family member?

Anyone related to the employee.

What are the hours?

UVA Care Connection Ambassadors will receive appointment requests Monday – Friday, 8 AM – 5 PM, and will observe the Health System holiday closing schedule.

Why are they called Ambassadors?

An ambassador is someone who is an official representative of an entity, in this case both for the UVA Health System and for the UVA family. UVA Care Connection ambassadors are your voice and charged with the mission to help you get to the best health care you can receive. Because we believe the role of the UVA Care Connection staff is so critical, nothing less than an “ambassador” seemed to fit.

Is this just for initial visits?

Requests may be received for routine initial and return visits, although we encourage patients to make their next appointments as they leave the clinic. Requests for same-day sick or urgent appointments will be referred to the clinic nursing staff or care coordinators.

When can I expect to have an appointment?

•    Primary care visits will be scheduled to occur within 2 business days of the request
•    Specialty care visits will be scheduled to occur within 5 business days of the request
•    Radiology visits will be scheduled to occur within 3 business days of the request
•    Appointments may alternatively be requested up to a month from the date of the request

What about current attendance policies and requesting time off?

All Human Resources attendance policies will be followed.

What are the appointment exceptions?

•    Requests for urgent or same-day appointments will be referred to the clinic
•    Requests for psychiatry or Behavior Medicine will be referred to those services and their staff will contact the patient to schedule.
•    Requests for appointments greater than one month in the future will be referred to the clinic.

Can I pick which provider I want to see?

Appointments will be offered to the service. If a specific provider is requested appointments will be made according to the provider’s availability.

How will specialty clinics get consults?

UVA referring providers will be asked to enter consults into the electronic medical record. Non-UVA referring providers will fax a consult to UVA Care Connection. The ambassador will copy the information into the electronic medical record and forward the paper consult to the clinic.

How fast will you let me know about my appointment?

Clinics will be expected to respond to requests very quickly (within no more than 60 minutes). The person requesting the appointment will be contacted as soon as the information is received or as determined during the original contact.

What if I can’t make that date or time?

Call UVA Care Connection to reschedule the appointment.

How will you know if UVA Care Connection is working?

Users of UVA Care Connection will be contacted and asked to complete a very brief survey after their appointment, similar to the current Press-Ganey patient survey. All responses will be anonymous.

What about confidentiality?

Appointment and health care information is considered protected and all staff are required to follow the same confidentiality and privacy practices as we would for any patient.

Of note, access to appointment information to verify employee requests for time off is not appropriate and will be considered a confidentiality violation.

What’s the phone number?

UVA Care Connection may be reached at 434-243-3675 (as of January 4)

Please contact Sue Forren, RN, Manager for UVA Care Connection for questions.
434-982-1655, stf@virginia.edu