1.2 Develop an organization-specific transition policy with youth (with input from family members/caregivers) that describes the organization’s approach to mental health care transitions, and make it publicly available.
1.2 Develop an organization-specific transition policy with youth (with input from family members/caregivers) that describes the organization’s approach to mental health care transitions, and make it publicly available.
An organization-specific transition policy serves to outline all major decisions and actions, as well all activities that take place during the transition process. This should include the roles and responsibilities of all individuals involved in the transition. A policy is set by the organization and defines its approach to care transitions, which can be implemented through specific protocols or procedures.
Making transition policies publicly available facilitates patient empowerment by addressing the barriers that patients may face when accessing care. Patients often have little to no ability to influence the systems in which they access care for their own needs. Typically, services are designed, altered, and negotiated by funders and care providers, as opposed to those who access care, or their advocates (Lau, 2019). Making organizational care policies publicly available provides patients and their supporters with a valuable tool to enhance health literacy, navigate the health care system, and gain a better understanding of their condition and potential interventions (Lau, 2019). This will also allow for informed, empowered decision making within care processes.
Resources
For examples of transition policies
To learn more about integrated care pathways:
[A transition policy] should be built centrally with input from family members/caregivers and shared with service providers to guide principles of transition care and to ensure standardizing of processes.
- Clinician
