Patient Rights & Responsibilities

• Choose a provider?
• Make an appointment?
• Get a referral?
• Access my records?
• Transfer my records?
• Resolve a problem with my bill?
• Address concerns about my care?

• Audience Guides

  • Affiliates
  • Faculty and Employees
  • Graduate Students
  • International Students

  • Parents

  • Retirees
  • Undergraduate Students

What your student needs to know about accessing care at MIT Medical

Current students asked us to share the following tips with parents of new students:

Waiting for an appointment

At MIT Medical, just as in the “real world,” there is usually some wait for routine appointments. Depending on the clinician, the normal wait time can be anywhere from a day to several months.

Getting immediate medical care

There are three ways students can get immediate care when they are seriously ill:

• Call Internal Medicine early in the day for one of the same-day appointments we hold for people who are sick.
• Call Urgent Care and ask to speak with the nurse, who will help assess the situation and give advice on self-care and medical-visit options.
• Walk into the Urgent Care Service, available 24 hours a dayr. This may involve a wait; Urgent Care sees the sickest people first.

Getting mental health care

Students can make an appointment by contacting the mental health service. First time callers will be scheduled for a brief phone call with a clinician, who will establish the general problem and its urgency, and help match the student with the most appropriate clinician.  If a concern cannot wait, walk-in visits are available in Mental Health Monday through Friday from 2 to 4 p.m.  A mental health clinician is on call after hours and weekends for emergency needs and can be reached by calling Mental Health.  All visits to Mental Health are confidential.

Involving parents or guardians in medical care

If a student wants a parent, guardian, or other adult to be involved in an episode of medical care, he or she can simply tell or email that request to the clinician. 

Waiving on time

If you do not want to pay for the MIT Student Extended Insurance Plan (because your health insurance meets Massachusetts requirements), your student must submit a waiver each semester by the deadline. Go to medweb.mit.edu/healthplans/student/waiver.html for more information.

Using outside health insurance

If your student will be using your health insurance plan, make sure he or she knows how to manage the process.

• Insurance cards: Students should carry their insurance cards at all times.
• Referrals: Students referred to specialists outside of MIT Medical need to know their plans’ rules regarding referrals and be able to find out if the visit will be covered.
• Prescriptions: Your student needs to know how to fill prescriptions under your insurance plan. Because the MIT Medical pharmacy is a “hospital licensed” pharmacy, some health plans will not provide coverage for drugs purchased here. If your plan will not cover drugs purchased from our pharmacy, your student may have prescriptions filled at a home pharmacy and shipped to him or her here, or your student may fill prescriptions at a local, off-campus pharmacy.

Using Patient Online

All MIT students have access to Patient Online, MIT Medical’s online personal-health-management tool. Students can use Patient Online to request appointments, get automatic appointment reminders by email, and send secure email to participating MIT Medical clinicians. Visit medweb.mit.edu/about/patientonline for more information.

Dealing with concerns about care

Students who are concerned or dissatisfied with care received at MIT Medical may contact our patient advocates, who will listen to concerns and try to help resolve problems. Email advocate@med.mit.edu, or call 617-253-4976.

Helping a friend with a problem

Students concerned about the health or wellbeing of friends can speak confidentially to someone in Residential Life, Counseling and Support Services, the Center for Health Promotion and Wellness, or MIT Medical’s Mental Health Service.

Student questions and
MIT Medical answers

How can I minimize the wait in Urgent Care?

• Go before 11 a.m. There’s usually a shorter wait earlier in the day.
• Call ahead and ask for an estimated wait time.
• Call Urgent Care and speak with the nurse to get advice about self-care and medical-visit options.

What if the clinician says nothing is wrong with me?

• There are challenging times during each semester when many students don’t sleep or eat well. As a consequence, they may not feel well. In fact, a student may feel really lousy but not have a medical disease. We provide as much lifestyle advice as possible, but sometimes the best cure is a good meal and a good night’s sleep.

Why didn’t I get antibiotics when I went to Medical with a bad cold?

• Viruses are the cause of many upper respiratory illnesses, like colds. Viruses do not respond to antibiotics; antibiotics are used for bacterial infections.

What if I feel awful but I’m told there are no appointments with my doctor for two months?

• Make sure you tell the front desk person that you feel poorly. Ask them for an appointment with another clinician, or ask to speak to the triage nurse.  

Why does the front desk person need to know personal stuff about me?

• The front desk staff needs to ask the reason for an appointment, so they’ll know how long an appointment to book. For example, a physical exam takes a lot longer than a follow-up visit.

Why does my care provider always ask me if I might be pregnant?

• Many students assume that this routine question indicates an assumption about physical appearance (Do I look pregnant?) or lifestyle. Clinicians in all settings—not just colleges—ask this question before writing prescriptions or ordering tests. It’s just part of good medical care. 

If I go to MIT Medical for mental health help, will my teachers or roommates find out?

• Everything that a student tells a mental health clinician (or any clinician) is privileged information. This means that the information cannot be given to any other person without their permission. There are a few exceptions: 1) if the student is in serious danger of harming his or herself or someone else, then the clinician can notify other people in order to prevent harm; 2) if the student is involved in the abuse or neglect of a child or an elderly person, then the clinician is mandated to inform the appropriate agency.