COVID-19: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Last updated Jan. 4, 2021:  Learn how UCSF is making surgery safe during COVID-19. Learn more.

Under San Francisco's current health order, all medical services, including routine and preventive care, are considered essential. Please contact us to make a telehealth visit  or an in-person visit. For in-person appointments, all clinical staff – doctors, physician assistants, clinical personnel -- will be wearing both face masks as well as eye shields or face shields for our patients' safety.

Service Line Update: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

The UCSF Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service remains committed to providing the highest level of care for patients with disorders of the spine, including both operative and non-operative care.  We recognize that many spinal disorders have a significant and measurable impact on health status, including pain and disability.  Our physicians and medical staff empathize with the difficulty caused by delays in care during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are working actively to help each patient access appropriate care efficiently and effectively.  Restoration of outpatient and inpatient services will be guided by resource availability and the priority of patient safety.

Urgent and emergent spine surgeries will continue to be performed without delay.  Urgent and emergent spinal conditions are defined as conditions that are likely to lead to irreversible neural or structural injury if left untreated.  Examples include fractures, tumors or infection, or nerve compression causing progressive spinal cord or nerve root dysfunction.  Rescheduling of elective surgeries and injection procedures is our priority, please contact us.

Regarding outpatient visits to our spine clinics, in order to protect our patients and our medical staff, we have transitioned many clinical visits to our Telehealth/video visit (https://zoom.us/). Clinic visits will remain available for patients who require a face to face evaluation.  For any urgent or emergent conditions our physicians and medical staff will remain available for evaluations and care.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we work together to provide appropriate and optimal care for our patients with disorders of the spine. Please contact us directly with any questions.

Please use https://www.ucsfhealth.org/mychart as your primary means of communication.

Phone calls may be directed to our UCSF Spine Center on Parnassus Ave - 415-353-2739.

If you believe you are having an emergency please call 911.