Referring Patients to Seattle Children’s Subspecialty Clinics
We believe that referring community providers and Children’s providers are partners in the care of patients. We encourage families to coordinate with their primary care pediatrician or family physician when coming to Children’s specialists.
Children’s Ambulatory Services encompass more than 30 different specialties, with additional subspecialty clinics offered at the hospital and the regional locations.
Children’s new state-of-the-art Ambulatory Care Building was designed to improve the care and service we provide to you and your patients and families.
When you refer patients to Children’s please give families one of the "When Your Child is Referred to Children’s" sheets which guides families through our appointment making process.
They are available in the following languages:
Requesting Specialty Services at Children’s
You may request new specialty appointment electronically, by phone or by fax.
Making a referral electronically (eReferral)
eReferral is found on the Children’s Care Gateway, on the Medical Staff Web site. Complete information about getting started, as well as other help resources, are on the Gateway. Electronic referrals are the fastest way to send your patients' referrals to Children’s; once sent, they immediately appear in our referral system. Please be sure to complete all fields and include as much information as possible about the questions you have about your patient.
Please fax supporting clinical information to:
- 206-985-3121
- 866-985-3121 (toll free)
Do NOT fax clinical information directly to the clinic or specialty.
Phoning in a new referral/consult request
- 206-987-2080, option 1
- (toll free) 866-987-2080, option 1
Your call will be answered by a clinical intake nurse who will collect brief demographic and clinical information. The nurse may request that you fax additional clinical data to optimally prepare for the appointment.
For some conditions, our clinics may require a more detailed triage to ensure referral to the most appropriate provider.
Please refer to the Consult and Referral Guidelines for information about tests and treatments that are recommended prior to referring patients to Children’s in order to make your patient's visit most meaningful.
Faxing in a new referral/consult request
- 206-985-3121
- 866-985-3121 (toll free)
The New Appointment Request Form (PDF) (Word version, DOC) is used for new referrals to Children’s specialty clinics.
It is completed by the referring physician, and helps ensure that we have the information we need to best schedule appointments and coordinate care. Please include all requested information in order to expedite the request.
Please fax relevant clinical information with the NARF to ensure appropriate scheduling and for coordinating care between you and Children’s providers.
Once an appointment is scheduled, you will receive a fax with the date and time for which the appointment has been scheduled.
A consulting nurse will review the referral form, and will contact you with any questions or to request additional clinical data to optimally prepare for the appointment.
If your office has its own referral form, it may be used in place of the NARF if it contains the same information. However, we believe that appointments will be scheduled more quickly and more conveniently for your office, your patients and for Children’s if the NARF is used.
This fax number is a dedicated line and only goes to the referral staff.
Additional NARFs may be downloaded or duplicated in your office.
Consult or referral?
To meet requirements of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS), please specify whether your request for specialty care is for a consult or a referral (transfer of care).
According to CMS, a consult has three components: a question with a request for a response, a face-to-face evaluation, and the actual response to the requesting provider.
A referral indicates that you would like to transfer all or part of your patient’s care to a Children’s provider.
New Appointment Request Form (NARF) includes both options; please select the one that applies to your request. The correct designation allows Children’s to appropriately bill for services and avoid fines for billing inappropriately.
By the CMS definition, a referral, also known as a transfer of care, only applies to a small number of our new patient visits, such as when a patient moves into our area and is referred to a clinic for care of a chronic health issue.
See our Consult and Referral Guidelines.
What Patients and Families Can Expect
Once we receive the completed request, the family may call the clinic directly to schedule the appointment. Generally this can occur within one business day after the referral has been sent or called in from your office.
To reach the clinic scheduler, the family may call Children’s at 206-987-2000 or toll free 866-987-2000, and ask for the specific specialty clinic's appointment line. The information sheet "When Your Child is Referred to Children’s" has more specific appointment phone numbers.
If the family hasn't called after 2 weeks, you will be notified that your patient has not been scheduled.
Families will receive a reminder phone call for their appointment and also receive a written confirmation of the appointment in the mail for appointments scheduled more than 3 weeks out.
Urgent Referrals
If you have a request that needs immediate attention, please call the provider on-call for the specific specialty through the physician operator at 206-987-7777.
Referrals to Multiple Clinics
If your patient needs appointments with multiple clinics, they can be listed on the same NARF. Be sure to include the relevant clinical information for each specialty clinic.
Insurance Authorization Forms
Some health plans, including Molina and Group Health, still require advance authorization.
Insurance authorization is a separate process that requires the use of the individual health plan's authorization form.
Those forms should be faxed to Children’s Insurance Processing Department at 206-985-3297.
No-Shows and Late Arrival Policy
If a patient is more than 20 minutes late to an appointment, clinic staff may ask to reschedule the appointment in order to honor commitments to other families.
After three clinic no-shows, patients will be returned to the care of their PCP.
This will be enforced at the discretion of the Children’s specialist who will communicate with the PCP prior to notifying the patient's family.
Repeat last-minute cancellations (notice of less than 24 hours) may qualify as no-shows.