The ACR Participates in Workgroup to Aid Transition of Pediatric Patients to Adult Healthcare Settings

tcareob72; paulrommer/shutterstock.com

Recognizing that gaps often occur in the transition process for young adults as they transition from pediatric to adult healthcare, in particular for youth with special healthcare needs, the American College of Physicians’ (ACP’s) Council of Subspecialty Societies (CSS), of which the ACR is a member, initiated a project and engaged several medical specialty organizations to develop specialized toolkits to facilitate more effective transition and transfer of young adults into the adult healthcare setting. This effort is under the direction of ACP’s CSS in collaboration with Got Transition/Center for Health Care Transition Improvement.

Based on joint clinical recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Academy of Family Physicians and American College of Physicians, Got Transition developed an evidence-informed process, the Six Core Elements of Health Care Transition, with sample tools both primary care and subspecialty providers can download for free, customize and implement in their offices.

The ACR participated in the ACP CSS project and formed a workgroup led by Stacy Ardoin, MD, chair of the ACR’s Special Committee on Pediatric Rheumatology. The workgroup included adult and pediatric rheumatologists, representatives from the ARHP, a young adult with a rheumatic disease and a mother of a child with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). This workgroup customized the six Core Element tools for youth/young adults with JIA and systemic lupus erythematosus. The customized tools were reviewed by the ACP Pediatric to Adult Care Transitions Initiative Steering Committee, consisting of representation from primary and specialty care internal medicine, medicine-pediatrics, adolescent medicine and Got Transition leadership. The tools were also reviewed by the AAP and specialty groups, and approved by the ACR Board of Directors.

Access the toolkits for JIA and systemic lupus erythematosus, as well as additional resources, on the ACR’s website.