Discharge planning occurs whenever an admitted patient leaves a hospital or skilled nursing facility. When a patient is discharged home, his/her discharge plan may include follow-up steps the patient needs to take, referrals to in-home care providers or skilled care, prescriptions, and other directives.
Learn about the discharge process
- United Hospital Fund publication, “Hospital to Home,” describes the discharge and appeal process, and includes questions for the caregiver to consider. The guide is available in multiple languages.
- United Hospital Fund publication, “, “Rehab to Home,” covers discharge planning from a skilled nursing rehab facility.
Find a discharge planning checklist
- This Medicare checklist provides action steps patients and their families can take to prepare for discharge. The publication also describes Medicare’s appeal process.
- United Hospital Fund publication, “Going Home: What You Need to Know,” includes questions patients and their families may consider when preparing for discharge. The publication is available in multiple languages.
Follow-up after discharge
- This guide from the federal AHRQ describes information patients may wish to gather to prepare for follow-up medical appointments after discharge from a hospital or rehab facility.
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