Frequently Asked Questions

A primary care clinician (PCC) is designated for you upon enrollment in Yale Health. If you would like to choose a different PCC, contact Member Services at 203-432-0246 to review the list of available clinicians.

Adult female members are assigned a PCC in the Ob/Gyn Department as well as the Department of Internal Medicine. Children are assigned a PCC in the Pediatrics Department.

A woman should have her first gynecological exam and Pap Test when she anticipates becoming sexually active or by about age 21. We do encourage you to consult with your primary care clinician before becoming sexually active.

The examination will include both breast and pelvic exams – neither is painful and both can be completed quickly.

During the pelvic exam, a laboratory screening called a Pap Test may be done. This involves brushing small cell samples from the cervix (the opening at the top of the vagina) placing the sample on a slide and sending it to a specialized lab for review. Exams are done by physicians and certified nurse midwives.

You may take a home pregnancy test or come to the Ob/Gyn Department and request a pregnancy test after one missed period.

You can request a urine pregnancy test in the Ob/Gyn Department or Student Health Monday through Friday during regular business hours. There is a lab in our building for your convenience. You may also go to any Quest Diagnostics laboratory facility in New England once the test has been ordered by the department.

Your confidential results are usually available the following day by 4:30 pm. Please contact your ordering clinician if you need any additional assistance when you get the results of your pregnancy test.

You can call to schedule an appointment or speak with a nurse in Ob/Gyn Department at 203-432-0222. All information is confidential.

When you see a clinician, a second pregnancy test may be performed. Early diagnosis and planning are important. Counseling is available if you would like to discuss options. If you plan to register for prenatal care, please visit our Obstetrics/Prenatal Patient information page.

A mammogram is a safe test, which uses a low-dose x-ray machine to take pictures of and look for problems with a woman's breasts. Mammograms allow radiologists to look for breast lumps and changes in breast tissue. They can show small lumps or growths that may not be felt during a clinical breast exam.

No.  Yale Health does not offer mammography or breast ultrasound exams at the Yale Health Center at 55 Lock Street.

Yale Health members may obtain screening mammograms by calling 203-688-1010 for any one of the following facilities:

• Yale-New Haven Breast Center, Smilow Cancer Hospital, 35 Park Street, New Haven

• Long Wharf Medical Center, 150 Sargent Drive, New Haven

• Shoreline Medical Center, 111 Goose Lane, Guilford

• Temple Radiology, 317 Foxon Road, East Haven

Screening mammograms are for women who have no breast problems or symptoms of breast cancer. When you reach age 40, you should have a screening mammogram every 1 to 2 years.

Diagnostic mammograms are performed on women who have breast problems or symptoms, such as lumps, nipple discharge, or as a follow up to screening mammograms.

The radiological technician places one breast at a time between two plastic plates, which press the breast to flatten it. You will feel pressure and possibly some discomfort for a few seconds. The flatter your breast is, the better the picture. Usually, two pictures are taken of each breast, one from the side and one from above. A screening mammogram appointment takes about 30 minutes from start to finish.

While you should talk to your primary care clinician about when to start and how often you should have a mammogram, Yale Health has adopted the following guidelines:

• Women 40 years and older: every one to two years.
• Women 50 years and older: every year.
• Women who have had breast cancer or other breast problems or who have a family history of breast cancer might need to start getting mammograms before age 40, or they might need them more often.

Several reputable organizations such as the American Cancer Society, US Preventive Health Task Force, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists make similar recommendations about the frequency of mammography.

Yale Health members do not need referrals for screening mammograms and may call the Yale Breast Center directly at 203-688-1010 to schedule an appointment. However, please give the mammography center your primary care clinician's or Ob/Gyn clinician's name so your results can be forwarded to them.  If Yale Health is not your primary insurance, please verify coverage and the need for a referral with your primary insurance company.         

Diagnostic mammograms require that an order from your clinician be sent to the Yale Mammography Center.  If you require a diagnostic mammogram, please contact your primary care clinician. 

Yale Health members may obtain screening mammograms from the Yale-New Haven Breast Center at various  locations by calling 203-688-1010 to schedule an appointment.

Locations include:

• Yale-New Haven Breast Center, Smilow Cancer Hospital, 35 Park Street, New Haven

• Long Wharf Medical Center, 150 Sargent Drive, New Haven

• Shoreline Medical Center, 111 Goose Lane, Guilford

• Diagnostic Radiology, 317 Foxon Road, East Haven

When you make your appointment, you will be given instructions you may need to follow before you go. Some general guidelines include:

Before your mammogram, discuss any new findings or problems in your breasts with your primary care clinician or Ob/Gyn clinician. In addition, inform your clinician of any prior surgeries, hormone use, and family or personal history of breast cancer.

Make your appointment for one week after your period, when your breasts are less likely to be tender.

Bring previous mammograms, breast sonograms, and reports to your appointment so that they are available to the radiologist, who needs the prior information in order to make comparisons to your current mammogram.

Describe any breast symptoms or problems to the technologist performing the exam. Inform the technologist of your previous breast history.

Inform the technologist of the date of your last clinical breast exam and your menstrual cycle (if appropriate).

Wear a shirt and a separate bottom, rather than a dress. This way, you can undress from the waist up and leave other clothes on.

Avoid coffee, tea or caffeinated soft drinks for a few days, before a mammogram. Caffeine can cause breast tenderness.

Don't wear deodorant, perfume, lotion, or powder under your arms or on your breasts on the day of your appointment, as these can cause shadows on the mammogram.

If you have breast implants, be sure to tell your mammography facility when you make your appointment. You will need a technologist who is trained in x-raying patients with implants because breast implants can hide some tissue.

Adequate compression is necessary for the radiologist to see the breast tissue better. Compression of the breast also lowers the radiation dose. Women who have tender breasts may experience discomfort.

If you are afraid or nervous about feeling pain during your mammogram please discuss this with the technologist before the examination. The technologist will work with you to make you as comfortable as possible while still taking good-quality images.

Mammography involves a very low dose of radiation to the portion of the breast under exam. The dose is much lower than the natural level of radiation that every person receives from the environment during one year.

For example, the average mammogram (four views) has a typical effective radiation dose of 70 millirems (a measure of radiation dose equivalent).  As a comparison, the average person in the US receives a dose equivalent of 300 millirems per year from natural sources.

For more information, call the Ob/Gyn Department at 203-432-0222 with any questions or refer to the following web sites:

National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service
800-422-6237

American Cancer Society
800-227-2345

Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
800-462-9273

The facility will send you a letter with the results of your mammogram or you will be contacted if any follow-up care is needed with the results of your mammogram.

The easiest way to get your birth control pills is to have your prior clinician call the Yale Health Center Pharmacy directly at 203-432-0033 with your prescription details. Your prior clinician may also fax it directly to 203-436-4251.

The Ob/Gyn Department has reserved special appointments with our clinicians and nurses to assist you with obtaining your birth control prescriptions at Yale Health. These appointments are available early in the semester for your convenience.

It is best if you can bring your current container or package that indicates your name, medication, date refilled, etc. to the appointment. This will assist in easy processing of your prescriptions. If you are unable to bring your birth control package or information, please make an appointment with the midwife and try to bring as much information about your medical history as possible to that appointment.

You may start taking your birth control pills one of two ways:

• start on the first day of your menstrual bleeding or
• start on the first Sunday after your menstrual bleeding begins.

If you forget to take a pill, take it as soon as you remember. If you miss a pill for an entire day, take it the next day and then take your regular pill at the usual time. Do not take two pills together as this can cause nausea. Separate the two doses by an hour or more.

To minimize or eliminate nausea, take birth control pills with food. Being late with birth control pills may lead to break-through bleeding, bleeding prior to week four, or "placebo" week.  Break through bleeding does not indicate a lack of protection.

If you miss two or more birth control pills, it is best to call the Ob/Gyn Department at 203-432-0222 and ask to speak with a nurse as we can assist you in getting back on track without having to discontinue the cycle.  Note that you will need to use condoms for the rest of the cycle because ovulation is possible.

Choose a back up method of birth control such as a condom during the first seven days of pill use. A back up method is probably not necessary if you start taking the pills on the first day of your cycle.

Keep in mind that birth control pills are a protection from pregnancy only. You should still use condoms to protect yourself from STDs.

If you want to switch to another form of birth control or change to another birth control pill due to side effects, call a nurse in the Ob/Gyn Department at 203-432-0222 or send a message to your clinician using Yale Health Online. It may be possible to do this over the telephone and Yale Health Online. You do not necessarily need an appointment.

Only a small number of antibiotics may decrease the effectiveness of oral contraceptives. Other drugs may also interfere with oral contraception. Should you have any questions about medications you are taking, please discuss them with your clinician or pharmacist. If they feel there may be a decrease in effectiveness, use some other form of back up protection while on the antibiotic and for an additional seven days.

Have your clinician call the Yale Health Center Pharmacy directly at 203-432-0033 or fax the prescription to 203-436-4251 to give you enough pills until your next visit.

If this is not possible, please call the Ob/Gyn Department at 203-432-0222 or visit Yale Health Online and request a Quick Pill Refill Visit with one of our certified nurse midwives. Please bring the pill container or packet with you to the visit. We will do our best to accommodate you, however, please plan ahead.

Yes.  If you have a prescription written by an outside clinician, you can bring it in, have the clinician call 203-432-0033 or have the clinician fax the prescription to the pharmacy directly at 203-436-4251 (by law, faxed prescriptions can only be filled when faxed from a clinician's office directly).

You should call the pharmacy to confirm we received the fax from your clinician.  It's helpful if your clinician puts your date of birth on the prescription.

Please have your outside clinician refer to the Yale Health Drug List to ensure that your drug will be covered.

If you have registered for a Yale Health Online account, we encourage you to message the clinician's care team. If you do not have a Yale Health Online account, but have had an appointment in the Ob/Gyn Department, we encourage you to register for a Yale Health Online account. This is a secure, confidential messaging system that allows you to communicate directly with your clinical care team.

You may request appointments, medication refills, and discuss routine medical concerns with the clinical care team 24/7. This is a very convenient way to communicate with your clinicians. Yale Health Online is for routine, non-urgent messages only.

However to communicate concerns or ask questions about birth control options, symptoms, and other related issues, this secure, electronic messaging system is appropriate and convenient. Please allow 24-48 hours for a response from your clinician.

Birth Control Information

If you have not had a gynecologic exam within one year, please schedule an appointment by calling the Ob/Gyn Department at 203-432-0222.  Contraceptive options may be discussed at this visit.

If you have been seen within the past year, call to speak with a nurse, or use Yale Health Online to message your clinician to request a prescription.

Emergency contraception, also known as "Plan B", "One Step" or "Next Choice", all commonly referred to as "the morning after pill" is available over the counter for women 17 and older at the Yale Health Pharmacy as well as most local pharmacies.  Emergency contraception might be effective up to 120 hours after unprotected intercourse, but is most effective when taken as soon as possible.

If you are under 17, it is available by prescription and you may call the Student Health Department at 203-432-0312 or the Ob/Gyn Department at 203-432-0222 to make an appointment with the nurse to get a prescription for Plan B.

After hours, call Acute Care at 203-432-0123.

If you have questions about emergency contraception, you may call any of the departments above and ask to speak with one of the nurses. All information is confidential.

If you are concerned about an experience that might have led to pregnancy, you might be concerned about sexually transmitted infections.  Click here to learn more about STI testing.

If it is the first time that you will be getting your Depo Provera at Yale, please have your clinician call in the prescription order to our pharmacy. Please provide written confirmation of the date of your last Depo injection and, if possible, a copy of your most recent gynecologic exam and Pap findings. A medical record request form is available at Yale Health to facilitate your request.

We can give you the Depo Provera injection on an appointment basis. Call the Ob/Gyn Department at 203-432-0222 to make an appointment with the nurse or visit Yale Health Online.

In addition to the 28-day birth conrol pills, you can obtain the following:

Nuva Ring – A soft plastic ring containing estrogen & progesterone, which is inserted into the vagina where the hormone is absorbed through the vaginal mucosa. The method is 99% effective when used as directed and is based on a 28-day cycle like BCPs & Ortho Evra.

Depo Provera injection – A progesterone-only method, which is injected intramuscularly within the first five days of an established period. The method is immediately 99% effective when started in this manner. Injections are repeated every 11 to 13 weeks. Women on Depo Provera usually stop having periods. The menstrual cycle resumes when Depo Provera is discontinued.

Intrauterine Device – IUDs are available for insertion. An IUD is a small, plastic device, which is put into the uterus to stop a woman from getting pregnant. A Paraguard or Copper IUD contains Copper. The other has the hormone levonorgestrel which is released slowly into the uterus, helping to prevent pregnancy. This type is called the Mirena. For every 100 women using the IUD, less than one per year will get pregnant.

Sterilization – Surgical sterilization is available for both men and women. This option should be discussed with your primary care clinician to determine if it best meets your needs.

Barrier Methods – Barrier methods include the diaphragm, the cervical cap and spermicides. Diaphragms and cervical caps require fitting by a clinician and a prescription. Barrier methods have few side effects, although some people may be allergic to latex or spermicides. The average one-year failure rate for the diaphragm ranges between 12 to 18%.

Ortho Evra patch – A patch containing estrogen & progesterone, which is applied firmly to the skin. The hormone is absorbed through the skin and is 99% effective when used as directed.  It contains hormones that are released through the skin and into the bloodstream. The patch is used on a weekly 28-day cycle, similar to birth control pills.

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Students enrolled in Prescription Plus are covered.  Please call Member Services at 203-432-0246 or review the Yale Health Student Handbook to check on your individual coverage and benefits. 

Students with Yale Health Hospitalization/Specialty Coverage can receive free generic oral contraceptives at the Yale Health Center Pharmacy.

You may call for refills via our automated telephone line at 203-432-0033 or use our online prescription refill request and proceed directly to the check-out window when your prescription has been filled. 

You may also request a refill at the check-in window of the Yale Health Pharmacy.  Please allow 24- 48 hours for routine refills.

The last line on your most recent prescription label tells you how many refills remain on your prescription to be filled by a certain date. A prescription is generally good for one year from the date it is written. Prescriptions for most controlled substances, such as narcotics, are good for up to six months from the date written.

Please allow as much time as possible when requesting your refills. Generally, allow at least one full day for processing, and longer prior to weekends and holidays. The time period just prior to Thanksgiving recess, December recess, spring break and the end of the semester are peak processing times in the pharmacy. You will need to allow at least two full business days to process requests at this time.

If you have not been seen in the department for routine exams for greater than one year, the clinician may request that you make an appointment before refilling your prescription. In this case, the clinician will give you enough medication to last until the date of your examination/appointment.

Students: If you have taken Yale Health Hospitalization/Specialty Coverage, you are covered outside of Connecticut for emergency care, acute care and pre-authorized short-term follow-up care. Please see the Terms of Coverage section of the Yale Health Student Handbook for details. If you have alternate insurance, you should check the specifics of that insurance.

Members: You are covered for emergency care when you are out-of-state.

An emergency medical condition is a sudden and severe condition, sickness or injury, including, but not limited to, severe pain, which would lead a prudent layperson including the parent or guardian of a minor child or the parent or guardian of a disabled individual possessing an average knowledge of medicine and health, to believe that failure to get immediate medical care could result in:

• Placing one’s health in serious jeopardy
• Serious impairment to a bodily function(s)
• Serious dysfunction to a body part(s) or organ(s); or
• In the case of a pregnant woman, serious jeopardy to the health of the unborn child.

Starting from four weeks before your due date, or if you are advised by your Yale Health clinician not to travel, charges associated with hospital admission will only be covered at Yale-Hew Haven Hospital.