Refer a Patient
How to Refer a Patient
To inquire about the status of a referral, please call Clinical Intake Coordinators at 206-987-2080, option 1.
Submit a referral
- New Appointment Request Form (PDF) (DOC)
- Step-by-Step Guide to Submitting a Referral
- New Patient Referral FAQ
Appointment availability
Updated August 2025
A referral is required for patients to start in Sports Physical Therapy. If a referral is coming from a provider outside of Seattle Children’s, this may take a few days to process. Once your referral is in our system, you should expect a call from our Patient Access Center.
Typically, when we receive a referral, a patient is scheduled for one initial evaluation appointment with a physical therapist.
After your initial appointment, our physical therapists will assess and discuss a plan of care with patients and families, which will include frequency of physical therapy. At that time, you will be able to schedule additional appointments.
Referral requirements
Please submit a referral that is complete. This helps us schedule your patient’s appointment in a timely manner and ensure their first visit is smooth and productive.
We may not schedule patients until a complete referral is received.
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
Learn more about managing your patients at Seattle Children’s, including viewing your patient’s records.