The Oxy Athletic Trainers are the primary point of contact for all student-athletes to report all injuries and illnesses. All student-athlete injuries and illnesses, regardless of severity, should be reported to an Oxy Athletic Trainer immediately. The Athletic Trainer can then assist the student athlete with the most appropriate treatment plan and referral to other resources as deemed necessary.
Reporting sports-related injuries and illnesses immediately to an Oxy Athletic Trainer will also ensure that the insurance claim for that injury or illness will be created and processed correctly. If the student-athlete seeks medical services outside of Oxy without notifying the Oxy Athletic Trainer, the student-athlete will be solely responsible for the charges incurred for those services.
In the event that an Oxy student-athlete sustains an injury or illness while practicing or competing at another institution (e.g. an away game), the student athlete should seek medical attention from that institution's athletic trainer. As indicated above, the student athlete must still report the injury to the Oxy Athletic Trainer at the earliest opportunity (e.g. on the bus ride back to campus).
Medical Care with Non-Oxy Physicians
As an integral part of the Oxy Sports Medicine team, the Oxy team physicians specialize in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of sports-related injuries. We have long-standing relationships with our team physicians, and this has proved to be advantageous and beneficial to ensuring high-quality medical care for our student-athletes.
We understand that there will be times when our student-athletes prefer to see their own physician, or seek a second opinion, for the treatment of their injuries. There are a few important points to consider when exercising this right:
- You, the student-athlete, will be responsible for finding out if the physician accepts your insurance, is in-network or out-of-network with your insurance, and what your financial responsibility will be with that physician.
- If you, the student-athlete, decide to work with another physician for your injury, you will need to remain under that physician's care for the duration of your recovery/rehabilitation process. This means that you will not be able to switch back and forth between your physician and the Oxy team physicians for the injury. For example, let's say you sustain an injury during the fall semester and decide to see your own doctor back home away from Oxy during the winter break. If you continue to have issues with this injury in the following spring semester and need to follow up with a doctor, you will need to go back to see your doctor. You will not be able to see the team physician here at Oxy for that injury. The reason for this is to ensure continuity of care. The continuity of care and quality of care can be compromised if you have more than one physician managing the recovery of your injury. This is an important point to consider; because if the doctor you choose is far from Oxy, this may be an inconvenience for you to travel back to see them if you require follow-up care.
- If you, the student-athlete, have seen our Oxy team physician for your injury, and then decide that you'd like to get a second opinion with a doctor of your choosing, you will be responsible for finding out the financial implications listed above in #1. After you have the second opinion appointment, you will need to decide with which physician you want to continue your care. If you decide to proceed with the non-Oxy physician, you will do so under the stipulations listed above in #2.
- You, the student-athlete, will be responsible for providing copies of your medical records to the Oxy athletic training staff. These records may include physician notes, radiology reports, imaging, and physical therapy prescriptions. We will need the copies of your records so that we can carry out your physician's treatment plan in the athletic training room or with our physical therapist. Furthermore, your clearance to participate in your team's activities (e.g. practices, competitions, strength and conditioning sessions) will partly be dependent on our receipt and review of these records. Understand that in order for us to be able to continue your treatment and return you to your sport participation, we will need copies of your medial records.
- Regardless of which physician you decide to see, you will be able to continue to receive treatment with the Oxy athletic trainers in the athletic training room, provided that we have all of the necessary documentation to carry out your treatment protocol.
Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalizations
In the event that a student-athlete is either hospitalized or transported to an emergency room for any injury or illness, that student-athlete will need to be cleared by the Oxy Sports Medicine staff before returning to any team practices, competitions, and strength and conditioning sessions. It is important to note that this clearance is required for both sports-related and non-sports related injuries and illnesses. Additionally, this clearance to return to athletics participation may require a consultation with our team physician or with the Emmons Student Wellness Center medical or psychological services staff.
