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. Instead, please see these community resources that may be helpful. See our Gender Clinic referral algorithm for more details on when to refer a patient.

To locate or expedite a referral, please call our Clinical Intake Coordinators at 206-987-2080, option 2.

Appointment availability

Updated April 2023.

As of August 15, 2022, a referral is required from a patient's primary care provider; patients may no longer self-refer. We offer both telehealth and in-person visits.

We are currently accepting only new patients who are interested in gender-affirming medical care, ages 9 through 16.

  • Patients age 17 and older should be referred to an adult care provider (PDF).­­ This helps maintain capacity in pediatric care for patients 16 and under who have very limited care options.
  •  If your patient is prepubertal and/or not in need of medical treatment, please see these community resources (PDF).

If your patient is only interested in gender-affirming surgery, please refer them directly to the Surgical Gender Affirmation Program for a consultation. Be sure to include the required letter(s) of support with your referral to avoid delays in scheduling. For more information, read the referral guidelines.

To help your patient start gender-affirming care sooner:

  1. Ask your patients to proactively call us to schedule (206-987-2028). We are currently short-staffed and unable to call out to families in a timely manner.
  2. Our providers created the following PCP resources:
    • Algorithm: Gender-Affirming Medical Care for Youth
    • E-consult service (free). You will receive a response within 3 business days. E-consults are ideal for:
      • Patients who are transferring care to the Gender Clinic (especially from out-of-state), who have already started gender-affirming medical care (i.e., puberty blockers, etc.), to help avoid any delays in care.
      • 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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

    We’re committed to partnering with you

      What Your Patients Can Expect

      • Once we receive your referral, your patient will be in our queue to review and schedule. Initial Gender Clinic visits are scheduling 6 months out. Initial consultations with the Surgical Gender Affirmation Program are scheduling 2 months out.
      • For the Gender Clinic, families may call 206-987-2028 to ask to be added to a cancellation list.
      • We review openings and the patient referral queue daily.

      Resources for Providers

      See our comprehensive Education and Resources for Healthcare Professionals.

      To suggest additional resources from Seattle Children’s that would be useful to primary care providers, please email us.