Transition to Adult Health Care

Talk to your health care provider to learn more about transition to adult health care

If you’re regularly followed at IWK Health, at some point your care will have to transfer to an adult care team or your primary care provider—like your family physician or nurse practitioner. Every transition and transfer is different, but we’re here to help you make the transition smoothly. After all, the last thing we want is for you to worry about how your care will continue as you get older.

Information about the Transition to Adult Health Care

The information on this page will help you start the transition conversation early with your health care providers, and help you feel more prepared and confident when you do transfer away from the IWK.

Differences in care (.pdf)
Learn about some general differences between pediatric and adult health care and get tips to help make the transition easier.

Primary Care Vs Specialist Care (.pdf)
A general overview of primary health care (your family physician or nurse practitioner and others who support your overall health care) compared to specialist care (health care providers for a specific condition) and why both are important in maintaining your health.

Transition: The basics for young people (.pdf)
An outline of the key points about how a youth transition to adult health care might go. It also notes some potential challenges that you or your parents or caregivers may face along the way. 

Transition: The basics for parents  (.pdf)
This sheet notes some potential challenges that parents and caregivers may want to discuss with their child’s health care team and notes some of the challenges the child may be facing.

Medication & Health Insurance Coverage
Learn how to read a prescription label and how to manage your health insurance (for example, how to make sure your prescriptions are paid for once you become 18). 

Getting Ready for Adult Care (.pdf)
This booklet gives tips for adult care, including how to prepare for your adult clinic visits and questions to ask your health care providers.

Ton introduction aux soin pour les adultes (.pdf)
Ce livret offre des conseils sur les soins pour adultes, y compris sur la façon de vous préparer en vue de votre visite à une clinique pour adultes et des exemples de questions à poser à vos fournisseurs de soins de santé.

Get Them Ready for Adult Care (.pdf)
Aimed at caregivers, this booklet includes information about the transition to adult health care and preparing your child for adult care.

Préparation en vue des soin pour les adultes (.pdf)
Ce livret offre des renseignements sur la transition vers les soins de santé pour adultes et sur la façon de préparer votre enfant à cette transition.

Resources to complete and share with your health care team

Readiness Checklist for Youth
This checklist—a fillable form that you can save and send to your health care provider—helps you keep track of some of the tasks you need to learn to manage your own health care. You may want to complete the checklist more than once over time to see how your skills are improving and where you might need to ask for help.

Vérification des connaissances et des compétences
Cette liste de vérification vous aide à tenir compte de certaines des tâches à accomplir pour apprendre à gérer vos propres soins de santé. Vous pouvez remplir la liste de vérification régulièrement pour voir comment vos compétences s'améliorent et dans quels aspects vous pourriez devoir demander l'aide de votre famille, de vos soignants et de votre équipe médicale.

My Health 3-Sentence Summary (.pdf)
This simple exercise helps you describe your health care needs to your health care provider. It should give you a simple way of summarizing your health care, especially when visiting walk-in clinics or emergency rooms.

Get Involved

Transition of Care Committee
This Committee brings together patients, family members, community and health care partners, and IWK staff and physicians to guide the IWK’s Transition of Care initiative. 

Transition of Care Community of Practice
The Community of Practice brings together pediatric and adult health care providers, as well as community partners who work with youth, to enhance their practice related to the transition from pediatric to adult health care.
 

Check out these videos about Transition!