Home Health Care
Get a Discharge Plan
The period following a discharge from a hospital to care facility can be filled with uncertainty and even danger, with confusion over care resulting in new or worsening symptoms. All this can be eased, however, by securing a comprehensive and reliable discharge plan clearly indicating needs and care — before leaving the hospital.
It can help to lay the groundwork for this plan well before the likely release date by contacting the hospital’s discharge planner. This person, usually a nurse or social worker, should coordinate the discharge and recommend additional local resources if necessary.
The discharge plan should contain:
- Specific continuing care needed, including medical treatments, medical transportation, and homemaker services;
- Detailed information about the services that have been arranged and the names, addresses, and phone numbers of the providers;
- A schedule outlining when nursing, therapeutic, or custodial care services will begin;
- Medications needed and instructions on using them, along with information about special diets and treatments; and
- The schedule for any follow-up medical appointments.
The discharge planner should be able to address additional concerns, including:
- What services the patient will be eligible to receive after discharge, whether they can be arranged in advance, and whether financial help or coverage be available for them.
- Whether any physicians or other medical specialists will be added to the list of providers — and whether the patient and others involved in the care can meet with them before the end of the hospital stay.
- When and how to refill or obtain new medications or medical supplies after discharge.
Do not leave the hospital or other nursing facility until you feel secure about the plan of care — and do not sign the discharge plan unless you understand all it contains. If the discharge planner does not provide all the necessary information, contact the hospital’s patient representative or ombudsperson for more help.
