Primary Care: Someone You Can Rely On

Primary Care:
Someone You Can Rely On

Primary care is the practice of integrated, accessible health care services. A primary care physician (PCP) can get to know you and your medical history and coordinate a medical team, including nurse practitioners, physician assistants and specialists, to address the majority of your health care needs. Your PCP plays an important role in your healthy longevity and quality of life by performing regular checkups, identifying risk factors, and providing tools to help you manage ongoing health conditions.

Five Reasons a PCP Is Important

1. First stop for care
   
   If you're starting to feel cold symptoms and also have questions about what vaccines you need or what to do about that persistent back pain, you get advice about all of these topics with one doctor's appointment.
   
   
2. Points you in the right direction
   
   Your PCP is trained to support your overall physical and mental health, but certain health conditions are best addressed by a specialist. In these cases, your PCP will refer you to a specialist and help coordinate information between all of your other health care providers.
   
   
3. Manages existing health conditions
   
   Chronic diseases, like diabetes, arthritis and high cholesterol, should be monitored regularly. Your PCP will schedule routine tests to monitor health changes and make necessary adjustments to your medications or treatment plan.
   
   
4. Helps spot health problems before serious illness develops
   
   Because significant changes your weight, blood pressure, heart or other key health measures could indicate a serious problem, your primary care team checks them at every visit to help identify health issues early — before they become something worse.
   
   
5. Knows you best
   
   Seeing your PCP regularly (at least once a year) helps your PCP get to know you and your medical history. You can feel more comfortable having open conversations about your health and asking questions to ensure your needs are met.

Finding a PCP You Can Trust

Everyone deserves a health care provider with whom they feel comfortable, listened to, respected and understood. Finding the right PCP is easier for some than for others. It may be difficult finding someone who speaks your primary language or understands how your ethnic background, culture, gender or sexual orientation affect your lifestyle and your health.

UC is committed to equitable, high-quality, culturally and linguistically appropriate health care for all members of our diverse community. Our health benefits, digital tools and campus-based programs offer a variety of ways for our diverse community to connect to care. UC has a growing network of providers that are as diverse as our employees and their families.

Find Your Match

If you're intereted in finding a new PCP, Health Net can help you find the best match for your needs. You can change your PCP at any time, with most changes effective the following month.

Health Benefit Navigators. Get help finding the right provider for your needs by calling (800) 539-4072, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Pacific time). You can also email Askblue&gold@healthnet.com for a response within 24 hours, Monday through Friday. Help is available in English and Spanish.

Rely on Health Net Pharmacy Benefits to Deliver

UC Blue & Gold HMO offers several convenient ways to get your maintenance medications and save money. Get a three-month supply of maintenance medications* for the price of two copayments at:

1. UC walk-up pharmacies
2. CVS walk-up pharmacies
3. Mail order pharmacy, CVS Pharmacy
   • By phone – Have your doctor call in a new prescription to the mail order pharmacy at 1-800-378-5697 or fax to 1-800-378-0323.
   • Online – Register or log in. Under My Prescriptions, click on Mail Order drugs and follow the instructions to request a new prescription.
   • By mail – Follow the navigation in the bullet above; click on Mail Order drugs; then download, print and send in the Mail Service Order Form.

For more information call 1-800-539-4072 or go to UC website.

*A maintenance medication is a prescription drug taken regularly to manage chronic or long-term conditions such as high blood pressure, asthma, diabetes, or high cholesterol. The medications on this list are approved for a 90-day supply through mail order or a UC or CVS walk-up pharmacy.

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