Leaving the hospital: a home health checklist

Before you leave the hospital, ask if you need home health and tell the discharge planner which agency you want. Get your discharge papers, medicine list, and follow-up appointments in writing.

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Before you leave the hospital

Ask if home health is right for you. Ask your doctor or the discharge planner. Home health needs a doctor’s order.
Pick the agency. You can choose any Medicare-certified agency that serves your home. Tell the discharge planner which one you want.
Ask them to send the referral before you leave. This can help care start with less of a gap.
Get your discharge papers. They should say why you were in the hospital and what warning signs to watch for.
Get a current medicine list. Ask which medicines are new, which changed, and which to stop.
Plan how to get new prescriptions. Ask if a family member can pick them up on the way home.
Ask about equipment. You may need a walker, shower chair, raised toilet seat, or oxygen. Ask who orders it and when it will arrive.
Make follow-up appointments. Write down the date, time, and doctor for each one. Plan who will drive you.
Ask who to call with questions after you get home, and write down the number.
Plan your ride home and who can stay with you the first few days.

The first 48 hours at home

Expect a call from the home health agency to set up your first visit. If you have not heard from them in a day or two, call them.
Take your medicines as the new list says. Set aside old bottles of medicines you were told to stop, so you do not mix them up. Do not change your medicines without asking your doctor.
Make a clear path. Move rugs and cords out of the way. Add night lights between the bed and the bathroom.
Keep your phone within reach.
Put your papers in one place. Keep your discharge papers, medicine list, and phone numbers together for the first visit.
Follow your discharge instructions for food, drinks, activity, and wound care.
Watch for the warning signs in your discharge papers. Call your doctor or care team if you see them.

Call 911 for an emergency, such as chest pain, trouble breathing, signs of a stroke, or a bad fall.

If something was missed

It is okay if you did not get everything on this list. Call your doctor’s office or the hospital. Your home health team can also help sort out medicines and equipment at the first visit.

Questions? Call us.

We can answer questions about home health, Medicare, and your insurance, before or during care.