When doctors talk about "transitioning," they mean safely shifting a patient's medical care from a pediatric to an adult-oriented practice. Your new medical "home" could be a sickle cell care center or the office of an adult hematologist.
You'll need to take lots of steps before you can make a smooth switch to adult health care. Your medical team should be able to guide you in the transitioning process, but here are some good things to know.
How to Prepare
Adult care centers are very different from pediatric offices. The biggest change is often the amount of input and responsibility you'll have. As an adult, you're expected to be more involved in making decisions.
It helps to get ready to play a bigger role by being more involved in your health care as a teenager. You can start by:
Keeping track of appointments.
- Checking in at the window yourself (instead of relying on a parent or caregiver to do it).
- Keeping lists of your current medications.
- Refilling your own prescriptions.
- Knowing medical information, like any food and drug allergies you may have.
