Gender Clinic

Refer a Patient

How to Refer a Patient

If your patient is not interested in gender-affirming medical care (puberty blockers, testosterone, or estradiol), please do not send a referral.

Appointment availability

Updated February 2025.

A referral is required from a patient's primary care provider; patients may not self-refer. We offer both telehealth and in-person visits.

We are currently accepting only new adolescent patients who are interested in gender-affirming medical care at the time of referral.

To help your patient start gender-affirming care sooner:

Ask your patients to proactively call us to schedule (206-987-2028). Our scheduling team is currently short-staffed and unable to call out to families in a timely manner.
Our providers created the following PCP resources:
- eConsult service. You will receive a response within 3 business days. eConsults are ideal for:
  - Any nonurgent questions about your transgender or gender-diverse patients.
- Gender Clinic Gender-Affirming Hormone Protocols: These protocols are meant to be used as examples to guide management of gender-affirming hormones; treatment should be adjusted based on the goals and needs of the individual patient.
If you are referring a patient with Kaiser insurance, we are encouraging patients and families to enroll and seek care through Kaiser’s Transgender Services Program as their services are similar to what we offer.
If your patient has Tricare Prime, they will need an authorization number, usually initiated by a PCP referral. Patients and families should talk to their PCP or call Tricare to initiate the authorization. Once they have the authorization number, they need to call us and provide the number. We are not able to process these referrals or schedule appointments until we have the authorization number.

Referral requirements

We ask that providers submit a referral that is complete. A complete referral helps us schedule an appointment for your patient in a timely manner and match them with the right specialist and clinic location. It ensures a productive and smooth first appointment for your patient. It also helps us assess the needs of our community and plan to have the capacity to meet those needs.

Please include:

Reason for referral: What is the clinical question for the specialist?
If the referral is urgent (see within 4 weeks) or routine (next available)
ICD-10 diagnosis – required
Visit type:
- New patient consult, transfer of care, second opinion or return visit/ongoing care
ALL relevant clinical documents:
- Clinic notes
- Medication history
- Growth charts/curves
- Lab reports
- Imaging and diagnostic reports
- Previous specialty evaluations
Patient’s full name (legal name and chosen name, if different), DOB, sex, address, guardian contact information and insurance
Referring provider’s name, phone, fax and the referral coordinator’s email address so that we may contact you if additional information is needed
Preferred clinic location, if applicable
If an interpreter is needed
Any known barriers to performing a successful telehealth (video) visit with the family

Submit a referral

New Appointment Request Form (PDF) (DOC)
Step-by-Step Guide to Submitting a Referral
New Patient Referral FAQ

We’re committed to partnering with you

For non-urgent clinical questions, consider placing an eConsult for Gender Clinic. For more details on eConsults, visit our EpicCare Link and eConsults page.
For urgent clinical questions, defined as a clinical question that requires immediate attention due to its potential impact on patient health or safety but is not life-threatening, you can call the Provider-to-Provider line (206-987-7777) to speak to our on-call provider.
Referring or transporting a patient to our Emergency Department or Urgent Care: call 206-987-8899 or, toll-free, 866-987-8899 (Emergency Department Communications Center).
Learn more about managing your patients at Seattle Children’s, including viewing your patient’s records.
See our locations.