For patients and families
Patients/families can find information about transition in the Health Education Library in the transition section including:
- preparing for transition
- getting ready for your first appointment with a new provider
- transition from pediatric to adult care: developing a medical summary
- identifying a new adult provider
The Social Work Department Transition Committee has several resources for patients and families on turning 18, including guardianship information, insurance guidance, and things to think about when transferring to adult care.
The Boston Children’s Hospital Teen Advisory Committee has great resources on transition for patients, created by teens.
Other important resources for young adults to have:
- Every adult (age 18 and up) should have a health care proxy on file, so that people know who the patient has chosen to make decisions for them if they are not able to at any point.
- It is important to understand privacy rights as an adult. Patients who are 18 can decide who can have information about them, including parents or others they want to involve in their care. They can sign a release form to allow team members to talk with their family if they choose.
- MyChildren's Patient Portal is a great way to manage communication. Patients can have their own portal accounts when they are 14 years old, shared with their parents, so they can practice managing their information and communications.
For healthcare providers
Transition from pediatric to adult healthcare is an important step in an adolescent/young adult’s life. Like other transitions such as graduating from high school, change can bring out both positive and negative feelings. Patients sometimes say that they don’t feel prepared to manage their own care and leave known providers. They are counting on providers to help set expectations and help support goals. Providers can help teach skills and support transition for patients and families so that they are well prepared. Most importantly, discuss transition with patients and families and have a plan.
For adult providers trying to access information about a former Boston Children's patient (or current shared patient), please consider using the Provider Portal to access important medical information.
The BRIDGES Adult Transition Program has a number of educational offerings for providers to learn best practices in transition care, including an annual three-day CME conference through the Harvard Medical School and a monthly Transition to Adult Care Conference series, along with other periodic training on both transition and caring for adult patients in an pediatric setting. For more information, please email transition@childrens.harvard.edu.
Publications and presentations
Members of the BRIDGES team have presented and published on the topic of transition. Check out these resources:
Podcasts/recordings/newsletters: