Developing a collaborative, patient-centric approach for adolescent transition from pediatric to adult care

Pediatric hospitals are primed to be the main driver of creating successful transition programs for adolescents with special health care needs. With more than 11 million children in the United States affected by special health care needs, a seamless process for preparing, assessing and completing a transition from pediatric care to adult care is paramount. This essay aims to identify a transition structure that addresses the needs of many types of patients who are transitioning from pediatric to adult hospitals, but specifically focuses on the high population of adolescents with special health care needs. The Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC (CHP) will serve as a data model and case study for supporting the author’s recommended transition structure, as CHP serves more than 9,500 adolescents each year. Core components of transition should be addressed in a pediatric hospital-led transition program will focus on the patient. A patient-centric transition program should transcend condition, socioeconomic status, number of specialists involved, and most importantly, physical hospital walls. The author recommends a set of immediate and future goals for CHP based on literature findings and current processes. These recommendations address the areas of patient-centric and transition-focused programming, team composition, clear programmatic direction, and the appropriate use of technology. In terms of public health, this topic addresses a potential barrier in the continuum of care and desired health outcomes for the foundation of our society: children and their families