The Health & Wellness unit encompasses five departments:
- Brown Emergency Medical Services (BEMS)
- BWell Health Promotion
- Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
- Health Services
- Student Accessibility Services (SAS)
The Health & Wellness unit encompasses five departments:
Health Services’ current hours can be found on Health Services’ website.
The Health Services pharmacy carries prescription medications and over-the-counter products. To fill a prescription, the pharmacy requires a written or telephone prescription from a student’s health care provider. Health Services can also transfer refills from the pharmacy that originally filled the prescription. Students may also be seen by a provider at Health Services to obtain a prescription. The pharmacy can be contacted by phone at 401-863-7882.
The pharmacy has an online store for over the counter (OTC) items. Purchases are available for pickup at the pharmacy or can be delivered to the student's campus box. Payment is by credit or debit card.
All incoming students are required to complete medical forms before arriving on-campus. Instructions for completing these forms and uploading required documents are in the New Student Forms section on the Health Services website. For continuity of care, students with chronic, serious medical conditions should forward their medical records to Health Services.
Every Brown student is charged a Health Fee each semester. The fee allows students to use Health Services, regardless of health insurance coverage. This is a separate charge from the Brown student health insurance fee that you may elect to waive if you have a comparable health insurance plan.
This Health Fee covers most general medical care at Health Services, including primary care by provider staff, use of Brown University Emergency Medical Services, nursing services and 24/7 medical advice, campus-wide health promotion, Brown University Counseling & Psychological Services, and Health Services’ various public health functions.
All Brown students must have separate health insurance to cover services not included in the Health Fee (such as lab, x-ray, pharmacy and hospital expenses). Students are automatically enrolled in the Brown Student Health Insurance Plan, specifically designed to complement the services provided by the Health and Wellness departments. However, students may waive enrollment in the Student Health Insurance Plan if they are covered by a comparable health insurance plan.
When evaluating your plan, you must verify that your plan provides adequate coverage that is accessible in the Providence area. Students must complete an online waiver form by the deadline listed on the Student Health Insurance website.
It is particularly important that you verify that your insurance plan is underwritten and administered in the United States and provides adequate coverage that is accessible in the Providence area before waiving the Student Health Insurance.
For questions about health insurance, reach out to the Student Health Insurance Office by phone at 401-863-1703 or email at studenthealthinsuranceplan@brown.edu.
Health and wellness records are confidential and are not released to anyone, including parents, legal guardians and faculty, without written authorization from the student. There are a few exceptions when release of specific information without a student’s expressed consent is necessary in emergencies or is required by law. Additional information can be found on the Health Services website.
Call 401-863-3953 to make an appointment for health services concerns or 401-863-3558 to make an appointment for individual nutrition counseling. Questions can be emailed to nursing@health.brown.edu and medical advice is available 24/7 by calling 401-863-1330.
Every Brown student is charged a Health Fee each semester that allows students to use Health Services, regardless of health insurance coverage. This Health Fee covers most general medical care at Health Services, including primary care by provider staff, use of Brown University Emergency Medical Services, nursing services and 24/7 medical advice, campus-wide health promotion, Brown University Counseling & Psychological Services, and Health Services’ various public health functions.
X-rays, medications, and lab work may have copays or fees associated with them depending upon your individual insurance coverage. Referrals to specialists including medical specialists, physical therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic care will come with copay, deductible, or full-on billing depending upon your individual insurance plan. Providers beyond the primary care clinicians in the Brown Health Services are not employed nor paid by Brown, thus cost is covered by patients and their individual insurance plans.
Please ask your pharmacy to call the Brown University Pharmacy at (401) 863-7882 and the pharmacists will transfer the prescription along with any valid refill(s).
For the pharmacists to transfer any remaining refills on your previous prescription(s) to the Brown Pharmacy, you will need to call or stop by the pharmacy and give us:
The transfer process may take up to 24 hours during busy times, or if the medication needs ordering.
Dependents of graduate students may be enrolled in health, dental, or vision plans through the University's Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP), Delta Dental, or Delta Vision at an additional cost. Eligible dependents include a legal spouse or domestic partner, children up to the age of 26, or a child born while the graduate student is covered by these plans. A spouse or partner is generally expected to be living with the covered student in order to be eligible for coverage. Doctoral and MFA students who receive health or dental coverage through their financial support packages from the University are eligible to receive full coverage for the annual premium cost of enrolling a dependent child or international spouse in health or dental coverage.
It is the student's responsibility to ensure the timely enrollment of eligible dependents each policy year. Previously insured dependents must be re-enrolled by the deadlines in order to avoid a break in coverage. Dependents are not automatically re-enrolled in the plan.
Health and wellness records are confidential and are not released to anyone, including parents, legal guardians and faculty, without written authorization from the student. There are a few exceptions when release of specific information without a student’s expressed consent is necessary in emergencies or is required by law. More information can be found on the Health Services website.
Private health information can be shared with other providers within Health and Wellness as well as health care professionals outside of Brown as part of a process of care coordination or referral in support of their patients. This sharing of information is to ensure that all individuals that are supporting and involved in the care of a single patient are on the same page and understand what is happening around their prescriptions, lab tests, evaluations, and follow-up care. Patients may give written permission to allow their provider to speak to any non-clinical individual (e.g. family, dean, summer program) if they would like that communication to happen.
If your health insurance is billed (during a visit to Health Services this would only happen for lab tests, prescriptions, or x-ray), your insurance provider may send an explanation of benefits (EOB) to the policy subscriber, often a parent. If you have Brown insurance, you are the subscriber for the policy and correspondence will be sent to you at your campus address unless you change your preferences with the company. If you have other insurance, you can call the customer service number on your insurance card to ask what their EOB procedure is.
Your medical provider can address any confidentiality questions or concerns you may have during your visit.
All incoming students are required to complete medical forms before arriving on-campus. Instructions for completing these forms and uploading required documents are in the New Student Forms section on the Health Services website. For continuity of care, students with chronic, serious medical conditions should forward their medical records to Health Services.
Call EMS! Brown EMS can transport patients around Brown's campus to Health Services during normal business hours, free of charge. You can either call ahead to schedule a pickup with Health Services or can call the DPS at 401-863-4111 and they will dispatch BEMS to your location. Calling BEMS doesn't cost you any money, nor does receiving a ride with BEMS to Health Services or the hospital.