Refer a Patient

How to Refer a Patient

If you are unsure whether to refer your patient to Pulmonary, one of our subspecialty clinics or another specialty at Seattle Children’s, we can help. Please call our Clinical Intake Nurses at 206-987-2080, option 4.

For information about referring your patient to our Sleep program, please visit Sleep Medicine’s referral page.

Appointment availability

Updated November 2023.

We welcome new patients through age 21. We are happy to accept referrals for all types of pulmonary concerns and conditions. Chest Clinic is open for scheduling of new and return visits 120 days in advance and fills quickly. The wait time for new patients in our Chest Clinic is typically 3 to 4 months, but varies by patient urgency upon review, and provider availability. If you feel your patient needs to be seen sooner, please contact us via the Provider-to-Provider Line at 206-987-7777.   

Patients need a referral to make an appointment.            

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:

• Service/specialty clinic requested
• Reason for referral: what is the clinical question for the specialist?
• If the referral is urgent (see within 4 weeks) or routine (next available)
• 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

Please note:

• The majority of new referrals are reviewed by a team of Pulmonary nurses and providers for acuity and nature of request. Complex referrals will be triaged as appropriate to subspecialty clinics including Cystic Fibrosis, Airway and Esophageal Center, Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Program, and others.
• To refer your patient for a pulmonary function test (PFT), visit our Pulmonary Diagnostics Lab page for instructions. You do not need an appointment with Pulmonary first.
• To refer your patient for sleep disorders, visit our Sleep Medicine referral information page.
• It is very helpful when we can receive your patient’s imaging prior to their first appointment. If a report is available, we will review that too, but the actual images are the most helpful.
  • For information on how to send imaging to Seattle Children’s electronically, please visit seattlechildrens.org/uploadimage.
  • Images that cannot be sent electronically should be placed on a disc that is DICOM format compatible and mailed directly to our Radiology Department:

Seattle Children's Radiology Department
4800 Sand Point Way NE
PO BOX 5371
Mailstop M.A. 7.220
Seattle, WA 98145

If you are unable to send the images prior to the appointment, please have the patient bring them to the appointment on a flash drive or CD-ROM.

• Patients who have not been seen by Pulmonary in the last 3 years will need a new referral.

Where we offer services

Hospital: All Pulmonary services

Bellevue*

• Aerodigestive Clinic (technically housed in Otolaryngology but staffed by pulmonologists)
• Chest Clinic
• Cystic Fibrosis Clinic
• PFTs: Fraction of exhaled nitric oxide measurement (FENO) and spirometry
• Sleep Medicine, including Sleep Lab

*Pulmonary services are provided at Bellevue Clinic and Surgery Center. Sleep Medicine is provided at Seattle Children’s Overlake Medical Tower.

Everett and Federal Way

• Chest Clinic
• PFTs: FENO and spirometry
• Sleep Medicine

Tri-Cities

• Chest Clinic
• Home Ventilation Program
• Sleep Medicine

Wenatchee

• Chest Clinic

Olympia

• Sleep Medicine

Submit a referral

New Appointment Request Form (PDF) (DOC)

Step-by-step guide to submitting a referral

New Patient Referral FAQ

Pease call our Clinical Intake Nurses if you need assistance: 206-987-2080, option 4.

We’re committed to partnering with you

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)

You may also find UpToDate to be an excellent resource for your pulmonary questions.

What to expect after referring your patient:

• Once your patient has been referred, you will receive a written summary of findings, clinical impression/diagnoses, and plan of care. A clinic summary is sent to each patient, with the latter 2 items listed in lay terms.
• If you have follow-up questions or concerns, please call 206-987-2174 (option 7 for urgent, option 8 for nonurgent) and the provider who saw your patient will return your call. If you need to speak with the on-call pulmonologist, please call 206-987-7777.

Our expectation is that we will partner with you on the care of the patient you refer to us. We will provide comprehensive care for a time until a long-term diagnosis and management plan is developed, at which time we will refer the child back to you for comprehensive care.

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

Meet the Pulmonary team. 

See our locations and subspecialty program descriptions.

Resources for Providers

• Seattle Children's Asthma algorithm
• Seattle Children's Asthma Management Updates 
• We recommend UpToDate as an excellent resource for providers’ pulmonary questions.

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