Otolaryngology

Refer a Patient

For our most current wait times by specialty and location, see our Access Dashboard.

View Seattle Children’s Access Dashboard

How to Refer a Patient

If you are unsure whether to refer your patient, please call our clinical intake nurses at 206-987-2080, option 4.

Patients must have a referral in order to schedule an appointment.

Appointment availability

Updated November 2023.

We are accepting new referrals. Currently our wait times are longer than normal (3 to 4 months).

To help us preserve access for patients who most need specialty care, we will temporarily stop accepting referrals for patients with certain non-urgent conditions, effective May 3, 2023. We will re-evaluate every 3 months.

At this time, we are not scheduling appointments in Otolaryngology for patients with these conditions:

  • Allergic rhinitis
  • Ankyloglossia for children ages 3 and older
    • For concerns about ankyloglossia impacting speech, we recommend submitting a referral to our Childhood Communication Center (CCC) with subspecialty VPD Clinic for a Speech Language Pathology evaluation focused on the impact of oral structure on speech function. Our Speech Language Pathology team will collaborate with Otolaryngology if any concerns are identified that would benefit from our intervention.
  • Chronic cough
  • Globus sensation
  • Hyperacusis
  • Speech delay
    • For concerns about general oral anatomy impacting speech, we recommend submitting a referral to our Childhood Communication Center (CCC) with subspecialty VPD Clinic for a Speech Language Pathology evaluation focused on the impact of oral structure on speech function. Our Speech Language Pathology team will collaborate with Otolaryngology if any concerns are identified that would benefit from our intervention.
    • For concerns about hearing loss impacting speech, we recommend submitting a referral to Audiology for a hearing evaluation.
  • Throat clearing

We will schedule patients with the following conditions if they have already received first-line treatment and not shown the expected improvement:

  • Epistaxis
  • Recurrent pharyngitis or tonsillitis
  • Rhinitis
  • Tonsillar hypertrophy/snoring
  • Otitis media and eustachian tube dysfunction

Resources to support PCPs in managing the above conditions may be found at Resources for Providers at the bottom of this page.

Referral requirements

Please submit a referral that is complete. This helps us schedule your patient’s appointment in a timely manner and ensure their first visit is smooth and productive.    

Please include:

  • Reason for referral: what is the clinical question for the specialist?
  • If the referral is urgent (see within 4 weeks) or routine (next available)
  • If this is a request for a second opinion
  • ICD-10 Diagnosis – required
  • Visit type:
    • New patient consult, transfer of care, second opinion, or return visit/ongoing care
  • ALL relevant clinical documents
    • Clinic notes
    • Medication history
    • Growth charts/curves 
    • Lab reports
    • Imaging and diagnostic reports
    • Previous specialty evaluations
  • Patient’s full name, DOB, sex, address, guardian contact information and insurance
  • Referring provider’s name, phone, fax and the referral coordinator’s email address so that we may contact you if additional information is needed
  • Preferred clinic location
  • If an interpreter is needed
  • Any known barriers to performing a successful telehealth (video) visit with the family
  • Previous audiograms
  • Biopsy results

Please note:

  • Patients who have not been seen by our department in the last three years will need a new referral.
  • We see new patients through age 20. If your patient is 21 or older, we ask that you refer them to an otolaryngology provider for adults.
  • Hypernasal resonance. If you are referring your patient for hypernasal resonance:
    • Ages 3 and older: We will route the referral to our Childhood Communication Center (206-987-3853, option 1). You are welcome to refer there directly.
    • Under 3 years old: They will need a referral from our Speech and Language Services or another otolaryngologist, or the patient’s diagnosis must be already confirmed by Speech and Language Services or another otolaryngologist. If needed, we will route them to Speech and Language Services. You are welcome to refer there directly.
  • Recurrent throat infection. Refer your patient for recurrent pharyngitis if they have had 7 or more episodes of throat infection in the past 1 year, 5 or more episodes per year for the past 2 years, or 3 or more episodes per year for the past 3 years. Additional considerations would be if your patient has had more than 1 episode of peritonsillar abscess, history of PFAPA or other periodic fever syndrome, or multiple antibiotic allergies. For more details, see the Recurrent Pharyngitis algorithm in “Resources for Providers” below.
  • Tonsillar hypertrophy. Refer your patient for tonsillar hypertrophy if they have been experiencing swollen tonsils for three months or more and they have difficulty with sleep, such as snoring, daytime fatigue, restless sleep or the like. See the algorithm in “Resources for Providers” below.
  • Chronic sinusitis (chronic rhinitis/chronic nasal drainage). Refer your patient for chronic sinusitis/chronic rhinitis/chronic nasal drainage if they have cystic fibrosis or if they have been using allergy medications (daily nasal steroid, antihistamine, nasal saline) for six weeks or more without improvement in symptoms. At least one medication should have been tried. See the algorithm in “Resources for Providers” below.
  • Recurrent acute otitis media. Refer your patient if they have had three or more ear infections in the last six months or if they have known hearing loss independent of otitis media, confirmed speech or language disorder/delay, autism or pervasive developmental disorder or syndromes or craniofacial disorders that include cognitive, speech/language delays, visual impairment or cleft palate. If they don’t meet these criteria but you have concerns about their hearing, please refer to Audiology. Also, see the algorithms for otitis media in “Resources for Providers” below.
  • Chronic otitis media. Refer your patient if they have had ear infection with effusion for three months or more, or if they have known hearing loss independent of otitis media, confirmed speech or language disorder/delay, autism or pervasive developmental disorder, or syndromes or craniofacial disorders that include cognitive, speech/language delays, visual impairment or cleft palate. See the algorithm in “Resources for Providers” below.

Submit a referral

Pease call our clinical intake nurses if you need assistance: 206-987-2080, option 4.

We’re committed to partnering with you

If we evaluate your patient and determine they do not have a condition that requires ongoing evaluation and management in a specialty setting, we will return them to you with an appropriate plan of care.

We offer tools to support referring providers in knowing when to refer their patients to a specialist and caring for their patients’ ear, nose and throat conditions in primary care. See “Resources for Providers” below.

We are always available to answer questions and support your care of your patients.

  • Diagnosis and treatment options: call 206-987-7777 (Provider-to-Provider Line).
  • Referring or transporting a patient to our Emergency Department or Urgent Care: call 206-987-8899 or, toll-free, 866-987-8899 (ED Communications Center).
  • Questions about scheduling and referrals, including locating or expediting a referral: call 206-987-2080 (clinical intake nurses)

Learn more about managing your patients at Seattle Children's, including viewing your patient’s records.

Meet the Otolaryngology team.

We offer services at the hospital campus, Everett and Bellevue. See our locations.

What Your Patients Can Expect

  • Families should call us directly at 206-987-2105 (select option 1) to schedule an appointment with Otolaryngology once they have a referral.
  • Appointments are available at our clinics in Everett, Bellevue or Seattle.
  • Access for most patient populations is less than two weeks; waits for some subspecialty areas may be longer.
  • We use a team approach that partners nurse practitioners with physicians in clinic in order to provide timely access to specialty care for more patients. A patient’s first visit may be with a nurse practitioner. A physician is readily available for these appointments if needed.

Resources for Providers

To suggest additional resources from Seattle Children’s that would be useful to primary care providers, please email us.