Infectious Diseases Referral
We provide specialized care to children and youth with complex infections, such as infections acquired from international travel, recurring infections, or infections that are chronic and unexplained.
We also provide clinical follow-up for patients who have serious infections that need management and follow-up after discharge from hospital.
Please note, this is NOT a rapid access clinic. We see most patients four to 12 weeks after we receive their referral. We sometimes see patients sooner or later depending on their urgency and availability.
The Infectious Diseases Clinic works closely with two other clinics at BC Children's Hospital and BC Women's Hospital + Health Centre:
Referral overview
We accept referrals from BC Children’s Hospital inpatient and outpatient services, family doctors, specialists, pediatricians and nurse practitioners.
If referring from a BC Children’s Hospital inpatient service, please consult the infectious diseases team to determine whether you need to make a clinic referral. If so, follow PowerChart referral processes. If you have already consulted the infectious diseases team, we will arrange follow-up in the Infectious Diseases Clinic as needed.
If referring from a BC Children’s Hospital outpatient clinic, please use the PowerChart referral process.
Please fax a referral as outlined below if referring from:
- A BC Children’s Hospital outpatient service not yet on PowerChart
- An external doctor or nurse practitioner
Referral steps
-
Write your own referral
Include the following:
- Patient and caregiver demographic information
- Referring physician name and contact information
- Reason for referral
- Relevant past medical history
- Relevant antimicrobial treatment
- Known significant exposure/travel history
- Infection control precautions required
- Interpreter required? (If yes, then specify language)
- Relevant lab work results
-
Send the referral
Fax the referral to: 778-504-9801.
-
Post referral
An infectious diseases doctor triages referrals within the business week in which we receive them. If we need further clarification, the triage doctor will contact the referring doctor.
The booking secretary will call the patient and their family/caregiver to organize an appointment.
Our current wait time is approximately four to twelve weeks. We sometimes see patients sooner or later depending on urgency and availability.
If a patient or family has not heard from our clinic within six weeks of the referral being sent, please call our clinic to ensure we received it.
Note:
- If the condition of the patient you have referred to our clinic has worsened and it becomes an urgent referral, please contact our infectious disease service on-call through hospital paging at: 604-875-2161
- If you are a parent or caregiver of a patient whose condition has worsened, contact your primary care doctor or nurse practitioner, or seek care at an urgent primary care centre or your local emergency department, as required
-
Appointment with a provider
We will notify the patient or family/caregiver directly of their appointment date and time. Once the family/caregiver has an appointment time, no further action is required.
Contact information
Referring providers with questions about a referral can call our clinic at: 604-875-2973.
Our clerical staff will direct your query to the appropriate person.