Coming Home From Hospital: The Discharge Checklist

Discharge feels like the end of the episode. Clinically it is a handover — from a team who have watched you around the clock to you, your family and your GP, most of whom were not in the room. Almost everything that goes wrong in the fortnight afterwards traces back to something that was not passed on.

What hospital discharge planning actually is

Discharge planning is the work of arranging what happens after you leave: medicines, follow-up appointments, equipment, help at home and instructions. In a good discharge it starts days before you go, not on the morning you leave.

You are entitled to be part of it. If nobody has raised it and you expect to go home soon, ask — it is a reasonable question and it usually improves the plan.

The medicines conversation, which matters most

Transitions between care settings are a recognised risk point for medication error, and it is a national priority area for the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. The reason is simple: your list on admission and your list on discharge are rarely the same, and the difference is easy to lose.

Then check that list against what is actually in your cupboard when you get home, and update your own record the same day — see what to include in medical records and how to manage your medication.

The coming home from hospital checklist

Paperwork and follow-up

• A written discharge summary, and confirmation it has gone to your GP
• A current medication list
• Follow-up appointments booked, with dates and who with
• Any referrals for physiotherapy, wound care or community nursing
• A phone number to ring if something is not right

What you can and cannot do

• Lifting, driving, stairs, showering, work — ask specifically rather than assuming
• Wound or dressing care, and who changes it
• Whether you can be alone, and for how long

The house

• Clear the walking routes — rugs, cords, clutter
• Bed, bathroom and kitchen reachable without stairs if stairs are a problem
• Equipment delivered and working: shower stool, rails, walking frame, raised seat
• Food in for the first few days, and easy meals
• A charged phone kept within reach, not in another room

People

• Who is with you for the first 24 to 48 hours
• Who does the pharmacy run
• Whether home support is needed — My Aged Care is the entry point for older Australians
• Your emergency contact knows you are home and what changed — see how to set up your emergency contacts

The first 48 hours

Go slower than you expect to need to. Take the new medicines exactly as written rather than merging them with your old routine from memory. Write down anything that seems off — a new pain, a rash, dizziness, not sleeping — so you can describe it accurately rather than reconstructing it later.

For anything less urgent that still worries you — a wound looking worse, fever, vomiting, confusion, a reaction you think may be a new medicine — ring the number the hospital gave you, or your GP. healthdirect on 1800 022 222 is available for advice around the clock (NURSE-ON-CALL 1300 60 60 24 in Victoria, 13 HEALTH 13 43 25 84 in Queensland).

If you are the person helping

Carers absorb most of the risk in the first week, usually without a briefing. If you are collecting someone, go in with them for the discharge conversation rather than waiting in the car — two people hear more than one, and you will be the one managing the medicines at 9pm. Ask for the instructions in writing, check you understand what each new medicine is for, and agree who is ringing the GP to confirm the summary arrived.

It is also worth agreeing, out loud, what you will both do if something goes wrong overnight. Deciding that at 2am is much harder than deciding it now.

What tends to cause a readmission

Update your records while it is fresh

• Rewrite your medication list from the discharge summary, not from memory.
• Add any new diagnosis, procedure or device, including where a device sits.
• Check your medical ID still names the right condition — see what to put on a medical wristband.
• Store the discharge summary itself where you can find it.

Related reading: staying safe in an emergency with a chronic condition, what to record for chronic conditions, and what emergency responders look for. To keep the updated list somewhere a responder can read it, create your emergency profile.

FAQs

Sources

• ACSQHC — Medication safety — medication-related harm and transitions of care.
• ACSQHC — Clinical handover — how information is meant to travel between teams.
• healthdirect — Medicines — using medicines safely and keeping a list.
• My Aged Care — the entry point for home support for older Australians.
• healthdirect — Emergencies — recognising an emergency and getting help.

Disclaimer: This article is general information about preparing to leave hospital, not medical advice. Your discharge instructions, medicines and activity limits are specific to you — follow the advice of your treating team, GP or pharmacist. In an emergency, always call Triple Zero (000). For non-urgent health advice, call healthdirect on 1800 022 222 (NURSE-ON-CALL 1300 60 60 24 in Victoria, 13 HEALTH 13 43 25 84 in Queensland).

Related guides

• How to manage your medication
• Safe in an emergency with a chronic condition
• What to include in medical records
• How to set up your emergency contacts
• What is MedibandPlus?