Successfully helping your child transition from pediatric to adult-centered care will create a strong foundation for a lifetime of health needs.
A transition health care plan is appropriate for all teens, although the resources and necessary steps to a successful transition will vary depending on each child’s health.
While many teens may simply need a referral, those with manageable conditions, like asthma, may require more education about their conditions, including how to stay healthy and when to seek help. For patients with complex medical diseases, planning may begin as early as 14 years of age and include several meetings with patient, family, pediatric team and adult provider, or even enrollment in a transition clinic program.
Children with complex medical needs have the most urgent need for a successful transition. Understanding the fragile health of these patients, combined with unique care needs, makes the transition critically important and vital to avoiding deterioration in quality of life. This is precisely why one of our priorities at Texas Children’s Hospital is transition medicine—the planned process of moving a pediatric patient into the adult health care system so their health and ability to function is optimized.
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