The inpatient department of every hospital seems to be an area where patients with longer ailments are admitted and taken care of. Sometimes, people with acute illnesses are also admitted for observation.
People undergoing any kind of major or minor surgeries are also kept in the inpatient section of the hospital until they patient is stable and sufficiently mobilized. Some patients with chronic ailments and poor recovery are admitted for days and weeks.
Hospital stays always seem to be the longest stays for a person who has been admitted for even three days. I remember myself dreading the idea of going to the hospital in my childhood. Even after undergoing three caesarian sections, I feel I must leave the hospital as soon as the new life is handed over to me.
After a long and tiring stay at the hospital, one day, your doctor finally calls it quits and allows us to leave him for good. Well, that is the day we are discharged from the hospital which means we are free to move back to life.
Hospital discharge
When we no longer need any care in the hospital, we are given a sheet that contains permission to leave. This is the official discharge from the hospital. On discharge, you are made to understand the illness and what kind of care you need at home so that quick recovery is possible even when you begin your routine life.
Hospital discharge does not always mean that you are fully recovered. For example, post-surgery, you still need to have complete rest, clean your wounds and take regular medicines until you are fully recovered.
Hospital discharge given in time also helps in the prevention of hospital-acquired infections which is becoming an increasingly alarming situation all over the world.
What are hospital discharge papers?
Hospital discharge papers are the documents in which you are permitted to leave the hospital on the basis of your current improving health status. These papers also have the instructions to be followed at home and other necessary information including the bills at times. In the next paragraph, we will have a look at the standard discharge papers we receive from the hospital.
What details are mentioned in the hospital discharge papers?
- Hospital discharge papers include the information of the patient and the doctor at the topmost part of the document. The department in which the patient was admitted and treated is also mentioned after the diagnosis is mentioned in bold and prominent ways.
- The hospital course and management are then written in detail in the sections of the discharge papers. This includes how the patient was received and what kind of management and care this patient was given while his stay at the hospital.
- Medicines to be taken at home are also mentioned with complete details and the duration of medication is mentioned with special care.
- Hospital discharge papers also include the date of the follow-up visit after the complete details of instructions and diet to be followed at home.
