Transitioning Youth to an Adult Health Care Clinician
For use by Pediatric, Family Medicine, and Med-Peds Clinicians
Transfer of Care
Transfer of care is the fifth element in the Six Core Elements of Health Care Transition™ (HCT). Establishing a systematic method for transfer to an adult clinician ensures that key tasks are accomplished; that youth, young adults, and parents/caregivers are informed of and involved in the hand-off of care and current medical information; and that communication and coordination between pediatric and adult clinicians takes place. For youth and young adults with special health care needs, transfer of care often requires coordination among multiple clinicians to ensure a safe and continuous process. Transfer to an adult clinician is recommended before the age of 22.
Sample Tools
Implementation
Read more information on the QI framework and methods in our Quality Improvement Primer.
Implementation: Transfer of Care
For each core element, we have created an implementation guide to assist you in establishing a structured transition approach in your practice/clinic/health system. It offers quality improvement (QI) guidance on what information and processes should be considered when undertaking each core element, with examples from different care settings or patient populations.
Before starting, we recommend you read How to Implement the Six Core Element of Health Care Transition, which provides a set of practical start-up steps and tips to guide your health care transition approach. In addition, if you have more questions about the QI aspects of this implementation guide, there are links within it to a Quality Improvement Primer that offers further explanations for common examples of QI tools.