Welcome to University of Iowa Health Care
University of Iowa Health Care is pleased to offer care at our new downtown campus and clinics, backed by Iowa’s only comprehensive academic health system. With continued access to providers you trust and locations you know, we’re strengthening our community of care.
To continue making this transition as smooth as possible for you, we’ve highlighted frequently asked questions below.
Recent changes
All former Mercy Iowa City locations and patient records are converting to MyChart, a free online tool for patients.
Some of the perks of MyChart include the ability to:
- Message providers
- See test results
- Manage and check in for appointments
- Pay your bill
- Renew and request prescription refills
For additional information, please visit uihc.org/get-know-mychart.
Former Mercy Iowa City locations will be switching to a hospital-based billing system (also known as provider-based billing), where doctor or provider care and hospital care are billed separately. For instance, doctor fees might include seeing a provider and having them read test results, while hospital fees might include equipment and lab tests.
Your insurance company may charge different out-of-pocket fees for this type of billing. To learn more and see a list of clinics that are transitioning to hospital-based billing, visit uihc.org/billing-hospital-based-clinics.
Information for patients at Medical Center Downtown
Note: The links below will redirect you to the former Mercy Iowa City website and/or patient affiliated sites.
Frequently Asked Questions
Visiting, scheduling and location status
You should continue to schedule and come to your appointments at the locations they were scheduled. We will notify patients if any locations change in the future.
At this time, scheduled appointments will remain at the locations they were scheduled. We will notify patients if this changes.
All Mercy Iowa City physicians and employees have been welcomed to transition to UI Health Care to maintain continuity of care for patients. If a provider chooses to leave, their patients will be notified as soon as possible via mail, including details on how to find a new provider.
The number for scheduling will remain the same at this time, and you can continue to schedule appointments by calling 319-339-0300.
As Mercy Iowa City operations transition to UI Health Care, it will take some time to work through payment changes. For now, you will not be able to pay for services performed at any of the former Mercy Iowa City locations via your UI Health Care bill through MyChart. This will eventually change as we continue to make process updates.
Eventually your Mercy Iowa City medical records will be automatically transferred to UI Health Care, but this process will take some time. In the meantime, you can still access your electronic medical records through the FollowMyHealth Patient Portal (https://www.mercyiowacity.org/FMH-patient-portal).
While your insurance plan won’t change as a result of this transition of ownership (unless you are a former Mercy Iowa City employee), we encourage you to check with your insurance company to see if there will be any changes in your out-of-pocket costs. You should not need to notify your insurance carrier otherwise.
All Mercy Iowa City physicians and employees have been welcomed to transition to UI Health Care to maintain continuity of care for patients. If a provider chooses to leave, their patients will be notified as soon as possible via mail, including details on how to find a new provider.
The number for scheduling will remain the same at this time, and you can continue to schedule appointments by calling 319-339-0300.
Billing, insurance, and payments
For services provided on or after Jan. 31, 2024, your bill will come from UI Health Care.
For billing questions for services provided on or after Jan. 31, 2024, you can contact Patient Billing Services at 319-384-2196.
If you still owe money on a bill for services at Mercy Iowa City before Jan. 31, 2024, you can still pay in the same ways you previously could, except for in-person payments at the clinics. Your bill should list information on how to pay, or you can call us at 319-339-0300.
As former Mercy Iowa City locations transition to MyChart, some bills will be available for payment in MyChart, and some will not be transitioned to this system yet. If your bill does not yet show up in MyChart, you can pay it by following the instructions on your bill.
While your insurance plan won’t change as a result of this transition of ownership (unless you are a former Mercy Iowa City employee), we encourage you to check with your insurance company to see if there will be any changes in your out-of-pocket costs. You should not need to notify your insurance carrier otherwise.
Once your claim has been processed by your insurance company, you will receive a bill in the mail with further instructions on how to pay your balance.
As operations continue to transition to UI Health Care, it will take some time to work through system changes. We expect it will be several months before we will resume accepting payments in clinic.
Going cashless in our clinics simplifies our operations and increases safety and efficiency for patients and staff.
Miscellaneous
No, the former Mercy Iowa City hospital is now called University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center Downtown. The medical center and the attached medical office building are on UI Health Care's downtown campus. The other former Mercy clinics are now UI Health Care clinics.
You can expect the same high quality health care you currently receive, no matter the location. The university campus will continue to focus more on specialty and complex care, whereas the downtown campus will remain an open medical practice serving the Iowa City community.
You can call us with any general questions at 319-339-0300.
Epic/MyChart
Epic is the electronic medical record system (EMR) that UI Health Care uses. With Epic, patients are able to have one single, comprehensive medical record. This enables us to provide higher-quality, more personalized care that is better coordinated between the patient and care team(s).
MyChart, Epic’s patient portal, provides a way for patients to access their personal health information, and stay in touch with their care team in between visits. MyChart can help patients stay more engaged in their care.
MyChart lets patients access their personal health information, and even take care of many things on their own before they get to a clinic or medical center. Using MyChart is not only convenient for patients, but also for clinic and medical center staff. MyChart allows patients to:
- View their medical record
- Request an appointment for some services
- See test results
- Complete eCheck-in and questionnaires prior to a clinic or medical center appointment, decreasing the time spent on these tasks on-site
- Request a prescription renewal or refill at a UI Health Care pharmacy
- Pay bills
- Message securely with providers, which can reduce the volume of calls a patient may make to a clinic or medical center
Yes, patients will be able to see provider notes in their MyChart accounts following an appointment.
All diagnoses are shared with the patient unless they are manually unshared by a care provider. Patients can also review their After Visit Summary or the providers’ notes in MyChart following a visit.
Yes, all results are released to MyChart.
Patients are able to schedule some types of appointments in MyChart, but the availability of this function depends on the type of appointment that you’re trying to schedule.
Proxies have full access to the child’s MyChart account and medical records until the child turns 14 years old. When the child turns 14, proxies then have limited access to information such as insurance coverages, the ability to update demographics, electronically sign documents, etc.
For more information on MyChart and instructions to sign up, patients can visit uihc.org/get-know-mychart. Information will also be attached to a patient’s After Visit Summary, following an appointment.
If you have issues or questions when signing up for MyChart, you can contact UI Health Access at 800-777-8442 or 319-384-8442.
At this time your past health information from visits prior to May 4, 2024 will not yet be included in MyChart. With such a large number of patient records to transfer, this will need to happen over a much longer period of time.
You can view limited health information for visits from March 2022 to May 3, 2024 in the FollowMyHealth Patient Portal, accessible at https://www.mercyiowacity.org/FMH-patient-portal
No. Eventually all of your health information will be transferred to MyChart. With such a large number of patient records to transfer, this will need to happen over a much longer period of time.
If you already have a MyChart account with UI Health Care, you will not need to take any action to merge this information. We will be able to match up your patient records between systems.
Hospital-based billing
When a clinic or health care facility uses a hospital-based billing model (also known as provider-based billing), it means that patients are being treated as part of a hospital - using both doctor care (also known as professional services) and hospital care (also known as technical services). These must be billed separately, even though they happen at the same time.
Switching the clinics to hospital-based ensures they are fully integrated with the existing hospital departments to provide the highest quality, most seamless coordinated care available.
Doctors fees or professional fees are services of a health care provider during a clinic visit or procedure, including the reading of test results.
Hospital fees include things like room, equipment, supplies, testing, nursing, etc. for a clinic visit or procedure performed in hospital space. This also includes things like tests, labs, and imaging.
During a wellness or preventative visit, which is covered by most health plans at no cost to you, your provider may decide additional services are needed. This may change the way your visit is billed, and is based on your diagnosis, services given, problems addressed, and length of visit.
Depending on your insurance or health plan, hospital-based billing may lead to higher out-of-pocket costs for you, such as a higher copay, coinsurance, or deductibles. It is recommended that you review your health care benefits or call your insurance. They can tell you if your plan covers facility fees in a hospital-based clinic.
While you are not required to, it is recommended that you review your health care benefits or call your insurance. They can tell you if your plan covers facility fees in a hospital-based clinic. Helpful questions to ask are:
- How much of the charge is covered?
- How much will be put toward my deductible or coinsurance?
- What tier of my benefits plan will apply at this location?
For more information on hospital-based billing, you can visit https://uihc.org/billing-hospital-based-clinics
If you have questions about your bill, please contact:
Patient Billing Services
Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Phone: 319-384-2196 or 866-393-4605
Email: [email protected]