Dr. Maria Diaz-Gonzalez de Ferris, MD, MPH, PhD, joins us for a conversation about her approach to transitions of care in Nephrology. She is a pediatric nephrologist at UNC Chapel Hill, the Director of the UNC Transition Program otherwise known as STARx. Through her research work focusing on healthcare transitions for children with medical complexity, she has developed a system of healthcare checkpoints and resources that assess autonomy and self-management. In this episode, we briefly discuss the importance of transitions of care, general guidelines and resources, approaches in specialized populations such as transplant/CKD/ESRD, and resources that are available to those interested in optimizing their local transitions of care infrastructure.

Resources:

National and International Guidelines

• International Pediatric Nephrology Association (IPNA): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21832978/


• AAP/AAFP/ACP Healthcare Transition Guidelines (for general health care transitions and transfer): https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/142/5/e20182587/38577/Supporting-the-Health-Care-Transition-From


• Got Transition (online resource for general transitions of care): https://www.gottransition.org/

STARx Program Description: https://www.med.unc.edu/transition/about-us-1/

STARx Transition Tools (Healthcare passport, All you need is love transition syllabus, Transition Index readiness assessment, STARx questionnaire): https://www.med.unc.edu/transition/transition-tools/