From
EUPSA/ERNICA
Transition of care: Initial impressions from the Erasmus MC
Chapter 1 of 8 · Fundamentals
Program overview
Introduction to Erasmus MC transitional care programs
Expert statements on this page
No expert statements were drawn from this page.
Host summaries · secondary, not cited in answers
Educational content from recorded physician discussions — not medical advice. Talk to your (or your child's) care team about your situation.
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What the experts said
There are huge differences between pediatric and adult healthcare: pediatric care is holistic (looking at family, school, sports) while adult care is more focused on the disease
Patients fall into a gap between pediatric and adult care if they are not prepared for the transition
Erasmus MC has been doing follow-up for almost 25 years and now transitions patients into adult care
Many problems from congenital anomalies continue on into adult life
The main goal of transitional programs is to train children to recognize the importance of their own health, recognize risks they run, and minimize those risks
18-year-olds are often not really adults in their behavior and skills
Providing continuity of care requires pediatric and adult healthcare providers to have close contact
One of the main goals is to not lose any patients in transition of care, as patients are currently being lost
Transitional programs make people more self-assured
Patients need to know who to contact on the adult team and when to contact them
It is the pediatric team's task to explain adult care contact information when saying goodbye to patients
Patients with a lot of problems know why they need transitional programs, but patients with fewer problems sometimes don't know what they have
A lot of parents and children are unaware that they need lifelong care
Follow-up care provides years to teach both parents and children that their health is their responsibility and they need lifelong care
Based on experience at the speaker's center and answers from patients and patient support groups, implementing transitional care is extremely important
Proper transition can reduce comorbidities in adulthood
Ernica can play a role in establishing standardized transitional programs by pooling together different countries' expertise and resources
Within Ernica, there are several patient representatives and clinicians all over Europe that can help define common strategies to better guide patients into adulthood
Improved neonatal and perioperative care has resulted in increased survival rates for patients with congenital anomalies and chronic conditions
Erasmus MC has transitioned 35% of their 17-year-old patients from pediatric to adult-oriented care