Hospital discharge planning is the process of arranging care for a patient following a hospital stay. Discharge planning is usually taken care of by someone within the hospital, such as a social worker, nurse or case manager. This person will help the patient and/or caretaker of the patient arrange services like nursing home care, rehabilitative care and outpatient medical treatment. Effective discharge planning is essential to proper recovery and can significantly decrease the chance that a patient will be readmitted to the hospital.
Patient Evaluation
Before any type of aftercare planning begins, a doctor needs to evaluate the patient to determine how much and what type of assistance he will need after his hospital stay. The results of the evaluation should be discussed with the patient or his representative. The doctor also needs to talk to the patient about things such as medications or diet changes following his treatment, what activities he can or cannot do and any medical equipment he may need such as a wheelchair or oxygen tank.
Discharge Planning
The hospital must provide discharge planning if the doctor determines it is necessary for the patient. Often doctors will request discharge planning if the patient needs nursing home care. It is the responsibility of the discharge planner to provide the patient or her representative with a list of possible nursing homes. The planner should also provide the patient with information about the different homes and identify places that have vacancies. While it is the patient's duty to contact the nursing homes and choose the home she prefers, a good discharge planner will continue with a follow-up to the home and provide that agency with medical information about the patient.
Potential Problems
Proper discharge planning can improve the patient's health and reduce readmission to the hospital. However, not all hospitals provide successful discharge planning services, and there is no universal system in the United States for hospitals to follow. According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, 18 percent of Medicare patients discharged from the hospital are readmitted within 30 days. Nowadays, hospitals are releasing patients more quickly, causing improper planning and leading to medical problems down the road.
Patients also may run into problems when they are looking for nursing homes. For example, a patient's preferred nursing home may not have any vacancies and the hospital may try to pressure the patient with an alternative choice. If this happens to you, try to be firm with your original choice and see if the hospital can use its influence to get admission into the home. If not, be open to other options, but don't let the hospital force you to live where you would not feel comfortable.
