Transition to Adult Healthcare: Preparing Early
Thinking about the transition to adult healthcare several years in advance and talking about it with your parents and healthcare providers are key to a smooth transition.
Find out how physicians, nurses and care coordinators from the Division of Gastroenterology at CHOP and Penn Medicine work with you to prepare you and your families to successfully transition to adult healthcare.
VIDEO WILL APPEAR HERE
How the CHOP-Penn Transition Program can help
Our team understands your concerns about transitioning to adult healthcare. Our CHOP-Penn Transition Program will give you all the information that you and your family will need to prepare for transition, help you find a doctor and give you the time to do so.
Transition doesn't have a defined age
Transition to adult healthcare usually happens around the ages of 18-22. However, transition does not have to happen at a certain age. Transition is decided between you, your parents and your physician, and depends on many factors including:
- Your and your family's readiness
- Your maturity level
- Your ability to transition to adult care
- Your current life situation, including whether or not you are going to college and prefer to stay with your pediatric provider until you graduate
The sooner you are involved in managing your care, the less stressful transition will be for everyone involved. Preparing early for transition helps alleviate, if not eliminate, the anxiety associated with a change in the physician, nurse and environment.
Care Binder
One of the most important items you will receive as you prepare to transition is the Care Binder. The Care Binder can help you organize the most important information in a central place and share key information with members of your healthcare team. The binder includes a very organized set of guidelines of what you need to do in order to be well prepared for transition.
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