Nephrology

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

Appointment availability

Updated November 2023.

We are accepting new referrals.  The wait time for new patients is about 2 months. 

Referral requirements

US News & World Report Best Children's Hospitals for nephrology graphicPlease 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.    

Incomplete referral information may delay scheduling of the appointment.

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)
  • 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
  • Renal ultrasound with report

Please note:

  • We do not see patients with recurring UTI or incontinence/bedwetting (enuresis). Resources to help PCPs manage these patients will be available soon on our Urology “Refer a Patient” page.
  • Patients need a new referral if they have not been seen in Nephrology in the last three years.
  • We see new patients ages 0 to 17 for hypertension and new patients through age 20 for other diagnoses.

If you are referring a patient for any of the following conditions, please first review these guidelines:

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.

Provider-to-Provider Communication

  • For urgent clinical questions, defined as a clinical question that requires immediate attention due to its potential impact on patient health or safety but is not life-threatening, call our Provider-to-Provider line at 206-987-7777 or 877-985-4637 (toll-free) to speak to our on-call nephrologist.
  • If you are directing or transporting a patient to the Emergency Department or Urgent Care, please call Mission Control at 206-987-8899 or 866-987-8899 (toll-free).
  • For non-urgent clinical questions, please consider submitting an eConsult. (Providers outside the state of Washington do not have access to eConsults and may call the Provider-to-Provider line and indicate they have a non-urgent clinical question for our on-call nephrologist.)
  • For co-management questions related to an existing problem for a shared patient, please send an InBasket message via EpicCare Link.
  • If you would like to have one of our Nephrology team members provide in-person or virtual education with your clinic, please contact our Physician Relations team to coordinate. 

What Your Patients Can Expect

  • Once we receive your referral, your patient will be in our queue to review and schedule.
  • Families may call 206-987-2524 to schedule an appointment.
  • We review openings and the patient referral queue routinely.

Resources for Providers

To suggest additional resources from Seattle Children's that would be useful for primary providers, please email us.