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Establishing a neonatology consultation program: extending care beyond the neonatal intensive care unit

Journal of Perinatology volume 44, pages 458–463 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

Neonates can be cared for in neonatal, pediatric, or cardiac intensive care units, and general and subspecialty pediatric units. Disposition is based on phase of care, gestational and postnatal age, birth weight, specific cardiac or surgical diagnoses, and co-existing medical morbidities. In addition, neonates may transfer between the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and other units several times throughout their hospitalization. As such, care for high-risk infants with ongoing neonatal morbidities (often related to prematurity or congenital anomalies) is provided in units with varying neonatal expertise. In this perspective, we provide a framework for the design and implementation of a neonatology consultation service for infants cared for in clinical units outside the NICU. We describe the core principles of effective neonatology consultation and focus on understanding hospital/unit workflow, team composition, patient selection, billing and compliance, and offer suggestions for research initiatives and educational opportunities.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Newborn Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Tierney M. Morrison, Avery Forget, Madeline Keyes, Anne Sullivan, Jenna Kelley, Jenna Katz, Sarah Morton, Sadath Sayeed & Philip T. Levy

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Tierney M. Morrison, Madeline Keyes, Anne Sullivan, Jenna Katz, Sarah Morton, Sadath Sayeed & Philip T. Levy

  3. Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Sarah Morton

Authors
  1. Tierney M. Morrison
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  2. Avery Forget
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  3. Madeline Keyes
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  4. Anne Sullivan
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  5. Jenna Kelley
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  6. Jenna Katz
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  7. Sarah Morton
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  8. Sadath Sayeed
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  9. Philip T. Levy
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Contributions

TM, AF and PTL developed the project. ML, AS, and JK, JK assisted with review of the literature and manuscript design. PTL and TM wrote the first draft. SS, SM, AF, MK, JK, JK, and AS revised the first draft. Each author on the manuscripts has seen and approved the submission of the version of the manuscript and takes full responsibility.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Philip T. Levy.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Morrison, T.M., Forget, A., Keyes, M. et al. Establishing a neonatology consultation program: extending care beyond the neonatal intensive care unit. J Perinatol 44, 458–463 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-023-01827-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-023-01827-w

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