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Steps to ensure that your patients and their families are prepared for discharge

Case Management Weekly, May 12, 2004

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Steps to ensure that your patients and their families are prepared for discharge

When it comes to discharge planning there are some critical steps you must take to ensure that the patient and family members will be ready to go home. Following is an excerpt of a checklist, developed by Carol Levine and Gail Gibson Hunt from their brochure, Hospital Discharge Planning: Helping Family Caregivers Through the Process, to help ensure that you cover all the necessary steps. Contact Rebecca Delaney at rdelaney@hcpro.com for the complete checklist.

Discussion

• The patient's condition and any changes that resulted from treatment
• Any symptoms, problems, or changes that may take place once the patient is discharged

Planning

• Arrange for an in-hospital assessment to determine Medicare or insurance eligibility for home care services, such as visiting nurses and home care aides
• Set up home care services based on what insurance will cover and what the patient can afford

Training

• Ensure that family caregivers receive adequate information and training before they are discharged, including the following:
• A written medication list with specific instructions on medication dosages and the duration of the regimen, and information about possible side effects

Referrals

Work with health care professionals, caregivers, and patients to explore available support services before discharge, including the following:

• Community sources of social support for caregivers and patients
• Community-based agencies that provide services such as transportation, equipment maintenance, respite care, home care and volunteer services

Source: Hospital Discharge Planning: Helping Family Caregivers Through the Process. Reprinted with permission. Published in Health Care Compliance, March 2004, HCPro, Inc.

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