The Neurodevelopmental program has updated its referral guidelines to clarify what services the clinic does and doesn’t offer and how best to refer patients for a successful first visit. Current wait times for first appointments are approximately six months.
Neurodevelopmental hopes its new referral guidelines will help patients to be seen in a timelier manner and be directed to the provider at Seattle Children’s or elsewhere who will best meet their needs. They stress the importance of submitting a referral that is complete in order to help the family’s first visit go smoothly and be as productive as possible. A complete referral includes the following documents, when available:
- Therapy reports (occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech) and early intervention notes
- Questionnaires (M-CHAT, Ages and Stages, Vanderbilt ADHD Diagnostic Rating Scale and other applicable rating scales and/or questionnaires)
- School records or notes, individualized education plan (IEP) or testing results, developmental assessments
- Brain imaging reports
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1. Pre-operative Testing at Seattle Children’s: What Happens When Patients Live Far Away or Cannot Get Tested in Time
We are screening all pre-operative patients for COVID-19. This includes patients who will have a procedure in an operating room and those who need anesthesia in Radiology. Families who have a procedure or surgery scheduled receive a reminder call 72 hours before surgery from the pre-procedure nurses. These tests need to be collected 24 to 72 hours prior to surgery and are being offered at our drive-through testing location at our Sand Point Learning Center (SPLC) north of the hospital, or during an in-person appointment at one of our four urgent care locations in Bellevue, Everett, Federal Way and Seattle. Learn more about testing at Seattle Children’s.
When 24 Hour Tests are Necessary
Requests for testing within 24 hours may come up for cases that are added last minute. These families can come to Seattle to have their testing performed within the 24 hour period. Results from external facilities should be faxed to the Seattle Children’s Pre-Anesthesia COVID-19 testing line at 206-987-2060 by 5 p.m. the day before procedure.
We understand that timely testing is not widely available outside the Seattle area. Perioperative Services will be working with families traveling from further away to help coordinate early arrival to the Seattle area to allow testing. Read full post »
Beginning today, May 11, we will offer COVID-19 nasal swab testing to symptomatic community pediatric patients (non-Seattle Children’s patients) at our Sand Point Learning Center drive-through test site and at our urgent care sites in Seattle, Bellevue, Everett and Federal Way. Tests will be provided during their normal hours of operation.
We are excited to offer this important service to our community. Full details are on our website.
How to order a test
1. Fill out a SARS-CoV-2 COVID lab requisition to order testing for your patient. Send the form via:
1. Facsys to [email protected]
OR
2. Enter order into CIS, or fax to 206-985-3111 or 866-985-3111 (toll-free)
OR
3. A paper copy that the family can bring with them to their appointment (not preferred; appointment scheduling may take longer)
2. Instruct your patient to call 206-987-2100 to schedule their appointment. Scheduling is only available once the testing order is received. If your patient calls to schedule their appointment and the order has not been received, your patient will be instructed to contact you.
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1. Abuse at Home: Harm Reduction Strategies During the COVID-19 Pandemic Workshop
When: Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 3:30 to 4:10 p.m.
Where: WebEx. Phone number: 650-479-3207. Access code: 282 103 292
Description: Staying at home is not a safe option for everyone. Data suggests intimate partner violence and child abuse are increasing during this time of social distancing and quarantine. Seattle Children’s Odessa Brown Clinic will conduct a 40-minute online workshop to discuss the current state of intimate partner violence and child abuse, trends and strategies to increase safety at home.
There will be a QR code for a survey at the end of the training. Attendees will receive a CE certificate from the event manager after submitting the survey. Read full post »
Our Ophthalmology program has released updated referral guidelines and resources for patient care, including a vetted list of pediatric eye care providers in Washington.
The new information is intended to help our Ophthalmology program focus on seeing patients who cannot find equivalent care in the community and reduce the long wait times in our clinic — currently about five months for patients with nonurgent conditions. Read full post »
Although the CME conference planned for March 7, “Urgent Pediatric Problems: Bridging Office and Emergency Care,” was cancelled due to COVID-19, Seattle Children’s has posted videos of the presentations that conference speakers had intended to give. Conference planners wanted to honor the preparation and work of the speakers by sharing these presentations with not only those who registered for the conference but also the wider PCP community. Read full post »
Seattle Children’s is now offering telemedicine appointments for physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT) and speech-language pathology (SLP). While it may not be intuitive that these services can be provided via telemedicine, in fact they work well in many situations. Our therapists often combine telemedicine with periodic in-person visits, which is a format that is widely used nationally and is effective for both patients and therapists.
Patients who need to be seen in person and/or use our specialized equipment rooms will still be provided with in-person appointments at our locations in Seattle, Bellevue, Everett and Federal Way, when it is safe to do so or when those appointments are considered urgent. Read full post »
To help minimize the unintentional spread of COVID-19, the 16th Annual Pediatric Bioethics Conference, hosted by the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics, has been rescheduled to next year: July 23 and July 24, 2021. The conference theme will remain the same — “Pushing the Limits: Children, Athletics and Ethics.” For more information, visit the Pediatric Bioethics Conference page.
Caring for Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth
Saturday, June 6. Save the date and check back for details.
Grand Rounds
Provider Grand Rounds: full schedule and Webex/dial-in information
May 7, 2020: Neonatal Cholestasis: More Than Yellow Eyes and Pale Stools. Niviann Blondet, MD; acting assistant professor of Pediatrics, UW; Gastroenterology, Seattle Children’s.
May 14, 2020: Improving the EHR to Support Clinical Decision-Making and Reduce Clinician Burnout. Ari Pollack, MD, MSIM; assistant professor, Pediatrics, UW; Nephrology, Prenatal Diagnosis and Treatment, Seattle Children’s. Read full post »
Guidance on When to Obtain a Second Test for SARS-CoV2
Guidance on who should be tested for SARS-CoV-2 has been updated to include information on when providers should consider sending a second test from patients who have had one test that is negative. Generally speaking, a second test should be reserved for patients for whom there is a high level of concern for COVID-19.
Rationale for obtaining a 2nd testing during a course of illness:
- Well-designed PCR tests for SARS-CoV2 have high analytical sensitivity, but clinical sensitivity is unknown due to lack of clinical gold standard.
- Clinical sensitivity is dependent on where the patient is in the course of their illness and the associated viral load (viral load decreases later in the course of illness).
- SARS-CoV2 appears to have anatomical tropism. For instance, in general, shedding persists for longer in lower respiratory tract specimens and as a result, lower respiratory tract specimens have higher sensitivity than upper respiratory tract specimens.
- Our testing strategy at Seattle Children’s calls for utilizing upper respiratory tract specimens as the primary specimen because it is not always possible and is often not easy to obtain a lower tract specimen from a pediatric patient.
- However, when suspicion for SARS-CoV2 disease (COVID-19) is high, consideration should be given to obtaining a second test and preferably from the lower respiratory tract if possible.
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