Your Family Physician
The University Health Centre provides comprehensive, coordinated, and continuing medical care for members of the U of A community through a dedicated care team, including family physicians.
Personal family physicians provide care to students and their immediate family (spouses and children), as well as staff members, for the duration of their time at the U of A.
By making a UHC physician your family physician, you can:
- receive complete care that is focused on your specific health needs and concerns
- build a relationship with your physician and trust that your medical history, personal preferences, cultural traditions, and lifestyle will always be considered
- become an active participant in your healthcare planning
- access same-day or drop-in appointments more easily
- be referred to specialists and other service providers on campus
Your UHC family physician and care team offer an extensive list of services to meet your basic health care needs, including:
- annual or routine check-ups
- STI testing and sexual health services
- travel consultations and immunizations
- mental health services
- nursing appointments
- podiatry
- obstetric/gynecological appointments
- nutrition consultations
A Collaborative Health Care Approach
Improved access to our services coincides with our approach to collaborative care, where service is delivered by providers from different specialists, disciplines, or sectors who work together to offer complementary services and mutual support. Establishing common goals, clear and equitable decision making, and ongoing open communication are key elements for building and maintaining effective partnerships among service care providers, and including the patients they serve. Collaborative health care is also influenced by:
- established personal contacts
- mutual respect, trust, and recognition of each partner's potential role and contributions
- effective practices that are evidence- and experienced-based
- changing needs of patients, their families, other caregivers, and resource availability
- context and culture in which care takes place
- relevant and responsiveness to local resource availability, and the skills and interests of participating partners
How family physicians play an important role in your mental health care
The benefits of establishing a relationship with your family physician and the role they play in your mental health care are numerous. Family physicians can:
- play a critical role in facilitating early detection of mental health problems, including mental health factors related in combination with another general medical health condition;
- help initiate and develop intervention strategies/treatment for mental health or addiction problems, when necessary;
- support you and your immediate family members' general and mental health and wellness* by promoting healthier lifestyle choices (management tools, advice on safe alcohol consumption, sleep, hygiene, and physical activity, and smoking cessation tools);
- monitor/follow-up on mental health care plans with you, including but not limited to medication monitoring (i.e. changes and/or renewals), as well as assist patients in planning personalized care strategies; and
- act as crucial links in navigating different levels and scope of care by coordinating additional, specialized health care and community services for you, such as with a psychiatrist, psychologist, and/or social worker
Content provided for collaborative mental health care and role family physicians play in your mental health care: "The Evolution of Collaborative Mental Health Care in Canada: A Shared Vision for the Future". (August 2010). The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry (56.5).
Employees, Students
Health Wellness