For Referring Physicians

The American Heart Association recommends that children with congenital heart disease (CHD) receive periodic neurodevelopmental evaluations and management. They recommend scheduling evaluations at 3 years, 5 years, and 8 years, or as proposed by a developmental team. This recommendation has been endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Referring a patient

We welcome all new referrals of children with congenital heart disease, as well as those who are Stanford Infant Developmental Specialty Program (IDSP) graduates. The following are eligibility criteria:

• Neonates or infants requiring open-heart surgery.
• Neonates or infants with cyanotic heart lesions not requiring open-heart surgery.
• Any combination of CHD and the following comorbidities:
  • Prematurity (≤ 37 weeks’ gestation).
  • Developmental delay recognized in infancy.
  • Suspected genetic abnormality or syndrome associated with developmental delay.
  • History of mechanical support (ECMO or VAD use).
  • Heart transplantation.
  • Cardiopulmonary resuscitation at any point
  • Prolonged hospitalization (postoperative LOS ≥ two weeks in the hospital).
  • Perioperative seizures related to CHD surgery.
  • Significant abnormalities on neuroimaging or microcephaly.
• Other conditions determined at the discretion of the medical home providers.

How to refer

To refer a pediatric patient with complex congenital heart disease to us, please fax our Referral Center at (650) 721-2884. For more information, call us at (650) 497-3899 or email us directly at cardiacneuro@stanfordchildrens.org.

If you have access to the Stanford Medicine Children’s Health Epic system, place an outpatient order for “ambulatory referral” to Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics.