Provider Tips

Seattle Children’s has posted information on our website and created handouts in English, Spanish and Arabic to help families and their providers know when Urgent Care or the Emergency Department is the best choice for a child in need of medical attention. Please help us share this information so children receive they care they need when they need it. Read full post »

CDH is a complex disease that often requires lifelong follow-up care with many specialists. Children cared for by a multidisciplinary, integrated team have better outcomes and live healthier lives.

Seattle Children’s CDH program offers the best care and outcomes in the Northwest and is a destination center for families living in U.S. western states and abroad.   Read full post »

Significant mental health impacts on kids during the COVID-19 pandemic mean services like the Partnership Access Line (PAL) hotline are more important than ever. PAL supports the PCP community in treating their pediatric patients in several ways:

1. Specialized support in all areas of child and adolescent mental health to community prescribers that lack resources and cannot complete a care plan
2. Rapid access to in-person or telemedicine consultations for any child with Medicaid coverage; eligibility determined during a PAL call
3. Mental health resource support for PCPs and expansion resource support for families
4. Evidence-supported mental health training for primary care providers with Category 1 CME credit
5. Publishes Primary Care Principles for Child Mental Health manual containing evidence-supported care guidelines for treating providers

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Seattle Children’s Rheumatology has created new algorithms and other resources to support PCPs in managing some conditions that are commonly referred for specialty care.

• Antinuclear antibodies (ANA): Algorithm
• Back pain: Algorithm
  • Also see Evaluation of back pain in children and adolescents (AAFP)
• Growing pains: Algorithm
• Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP): Algorithm
• Hypermobility/BHJS/Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: Algorithm
• Urticaria: Algorithm (seen by Dermatology)
• Pain syndromes (fibromyalgia, central sensitization, pain amplification, chronic regional pain, complex regional pain syndrome, reflex neurovascular dystrophy)
• Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS)

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Seattle Children’s has virtual appointments readily available at the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Clinic with little to no wait (same as in-person appointments).  Access is excellent at all our locations: Seattle, Bellevue, Everett, Federal Way, Olympia, Tri-Cities and Wenatchee. Telemedicine appointments are ideal for orthopedic and sports medicine visits that do not require a physical exam.

Types of Appointments Well-Suited to Telemedicine

• New patient visits: When a physical exam is not needed, providers can take a history and hear the patient’s story virtually. Families can get a good idea of whether there is harm in waiting or if treatment is recommended sooner.
• Review imaging and/or lab tests: Providers can share their screen with families and review images with them just as well as during an in-person visit, if not better.
• Concussion follow-up visits: Providers mainly offer education and counseling when a repeat exam is not needed.
• Some observations and pain tests: Providers can still “see” the injury or joint and assess for localization, swelling and motion. Providers can then give an opinion on next steps (i.e., whether to get imaging or to start with a specific treatment right away or if it is okay to delay interventions).
• Cast removal: A new at-home cast-off program is available for patients with a stable fracture that won’t require new X-rays after casting. When the cast is applied, it is bivalved and resecured with medical tape.  The family removes the cast at home when it is time and self-applies a brace, without needing to come back in.  Our provider walks the patient/family through the process remotely. We observe the parent’s exam, the body part and range of motion and give advice on activities, rehab and return to sports and exercise.

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• Oct. 30: How to Access Patient Information For Visits to Seattle Children’s From Aug. 17 to Oct. 3
• Oct. 21: Problem with ED Faxes
• Oct. 20: EpicCare Link Help Line Is Now Available 24/7

Dr. Monique Burton and Dr. Celeste Quitiquit are both sports medicine pediatricians. Dr. Burton is medical director of sports medicine and Dr. Quitiquit is co-medical director of the athletic training program at Seattle Children’s.

What does the sports landscape look like for kids this fall?

Monique Burton

Celeste Quitiquit

Drs. Burton and Quitiquit: Youth sports definitely looks different this fall. Some sporting teams are in full effect, with fingers crossed. Other teams already cancelled their seasons in advance. Many sporting teams tread carefully, building safety and contingency plans, creating hybrid practice agendas and trying to stay current with COVID-related news. To say there are some modifications is definitely an understatement. For example, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) has divided the upcoming school year into four sports seasons rather than the usual three, limiting play in fall and moving more play to spring. Almost all of November and December will be a no-play period during which WIAA will reassess plans for 2021 based on what’s happening with COVID-19. It’s very much a fluid, “stay tuned” type of situation. Read full post »

Firearms are the second leading cause of death among children and teens in the United States, after car crashes. One in three U.S. homes where kids live have a firearm, with 43% reporting that the firearm is kept unlocked and loaded.

Seattle Children’s offers this tip sheet (PDF) for providers on counseling families about firearms.  Many families feel comfortable discussing firearm safety with their child’s pediatrician when the conversation is approached with neutrality, privacy, respect and confidence.

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Our Pulmonary program recently updated its referral guidelines. Below are highlights of helpful information for referring providers. For further details, please visit Pulmonary’s new “Refer a Patient” page.

1. The Pulmonary team at Seattle Children’s is committed to seeing patients for all types of pulmonary concerns, without limitation.

Now is a great time to refer patients to Pulmonary. Our wait times are well below our historical norm (currently 1 to 2 months for new patients), we have telehealth access, and flu season has not yet started. Read full post »

Reminder: There is no walk-up testing available at Seattle Children’s for COVID-19. If your patient needs COVID-19 testing, please submit an order first and ask your family to call us to schedule a lab appointment at one of our Urgent Care locations (Seattle, Everett, Federal Way and Bellevue,) or our drive-through testing center at Sand Point Learning Center.

We have had a number of families arrive at Urgent Care requesting a COVID-19 test without an appointment or order from their provider.

Please see our COVID-19 testing page for more details. Thank you for your partnership in helping families in our region get tested.