Transitioning from Pediatric to Adult Health Care

For teen-agers living with a chronic illness, gaining more responsibility for their health, their life and moving towards adulthood can be an exciting and challenging time.

During the transition process, key points to remember:

1. Start early − begin planning by age 14
2. Remember that "transition" is a process, not an event
3. Get help from your current pediatric healthcare team
4. Involve teens in decisions, and empower them with more independence
5. Transfer to adult care should not happen during a medical crisis

To transition successfully, you will need to:

• Build knowledge, skills, responsibility and self-confidence to take care of yourself

• Find new adult health care providers
• Find health insurance and benefits for adults 
• Connect with community resources − at your school, where you work and where you live

Next: Build Knowledge, Skills & Responsibility »

Content last reviewed: November 2011