Discharge Plans Can Help Prevent Hospital Readmissions and Make Your Return Home from the Hospital as Safe as Possible
Hospitals provide discharge planning for patients, and the state of New Jersey provides outpatients with the right to those discharge planning services. A patient’s discharge plan should include information about where they will be discharged to, the types of care they need, and who will provide that care. It should be written in simple language and include a complete list of all medications, including dosing and usage information.When developing a discharge plan, a hospital social worker or discharge planner will connect with the patient or their representative to plan the return home. After an evaluation is completed, discharge planners will get patient feedback and consider requests about medical needs after hospitalization.
The hospital’s main goal is for a patient to return to home after a hospital stay. If returning home is not possible, the hospital will make other recommendations.
Discharge planners consider a patient’s full range of needs when creating a discharge plan, and evaluate the need for home health care, meal delivery, durable medical equipment (DME), and changes to a patient’s home to ensure safety. They will review which post-discharge services are covered by Medicare, and how much the services will cost. The hospital should be aware of what Medicare does and does not cover, and should tell the patient when costs may apply. The hospital should also be familiar with Medicaid’s coverage rules for certain services, such as personal care and long-term care.
BrightStar Care of Wayne / Fairlawn assists social workers with coordinating patient care at home, including medication management, wound care, skilled nursing, and RN infusion services.
To learn more how BrightStar Care works with discharge planners and hospitals to support a patient after discharge, please
visit our website.
Source: https://www.caregiver.org/hospital-discharge-planning-guide-families-and-caregivers