Transitioning adolescents to adult care: putting theory into practice.

Because many children with complex health conditions now live well into adulthood, they will reach an age when they can no longer be cared for in a pediatric practice. In order to help patients, families, and physicians prepare for and make the transition from pediatric to adult care, a group of concerned providers and family members met at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota to discuss the issues involved. They developed a document, the "Roadmap for Transitioning Adolescents from a Pediatric to an Adult Practice," to help with the process and also identified barriers to accomplishing a smooth transition. This article describes the issues addressed by the group, how the Roadmap can be applied to children with various health needs, and what still needs to be done to help the process go more smoothly for patients and physicians.