Transferring to Adult Medicine

How do I make the “move” to adult care?

First find a doctor.

Finding a doctor and other health care providers who can provide the best care for your health needs as an adult can take time.

At Middleboro Pediatrics we can look after your health care needs until age 22 years but we encourage you to start looking for an adult primary care provider (PCP), usually an Internal Medicine or Family Medicine doctor, well before age 22 so that you can transition smoothly from pediatric to adolescent to adult care.

It will be important to check that your new doctor takes your health insurance. There are a number of ways to find a new doctor.

·        Ask family or friends for a recommendation

·        Check online with your health insurance website for names of doctors who are taking new patients

·        Speak to a service representative at your heath insurance plan; you will find the number to call on the back of your health insurance card.

·        Your local hospital website will usually list information about doctors affiliated with the hospital.

·        If you need additional guidance you can contact us for advice.

Think about your needs.

When choosing a new doctor, consider what is really important for your health care.

·        What setting you would like for your ongoing health care needs: solo or single-specialty group practice, multi-specialty group practice or clinic.

·        Which network of providers and which hospital do you want to use.

·        How available is your doctor and does the practice use Nurse Practitioners and Physicians Assistants

·        If you are female does the office provide routine gynecological care

·        Does the office have convenient hours for your needs

·        How will you get to the office

·        Does the office use electronic medical records, or have a website or patient portal

If you are going to college and using the college health services and will live at home between semesters it is still important to identify an adult health care provider.

If you have been followed for a number of years by a pediatric specialist for a particular health problem, talk to your specialist about transferring to a specialist who sees adults with similar conditions and can take over your care. Your new primary care provider will also help you identify new specialists who care for adults.

If you are a patient with special health care needs and have been involved in specialized transition planning, you or another designated adult may choose to talk to your provider in our office about how we can help you transfer to adult health care. You may want to identify a physician who has experience with your particular health care needs or ask for a “consult” appointment to meet and interview them before transferring, although not all physicians provide this service.

Arrange transfer of medical information.

Once you decide on your new doctor you will need to formally transfer care by releasing your medical records to your new doctor.

This is called Transfer of Medical Records.

You need to provide a written request for Transfer of Medical Records to our office. Please be sure to include your full name, your date of birth (DOB) and the name and address of the new doctor to whom you want the records transferred.

Our website: www.middleboropediatrics.com has a Transfer of Records form for you to print, complete and forward to us.

Please allow 10-14 business days for your records to be forwarded. Please be aware that there is no charge to transfer your medical records to the physician you identify but that if you request additional copies there is a charge.

Our office is available to help in transitioning from adolescent health care to adult health care and transferring to a new doctor.

Please check our website for further information or talk to your provider if you need additional help with this process.