Hospital discharge checklist
Most readmissions start with something that was never handed over. Work down this list before you leave the ward.
The gap between the ward and the front door
Discharge is a handover, and handovers fail quietly: a new medicine with no time written on it, a follow-up letter that arrives after the appointment, a commode promised but not delivered. The checklist below covers the nine items that account for most of those failures — it is not a clinical document, it is a list of things to physically confirm before you walk out.
Medication reconciliation is the one to slow down
Ask for the discharge summary and read the medicine list back to the nurse or pharmacist. Confirm which medicines stopped, not just which started — a stopped medicine left in the pill box is one of the most common and most dangerous discharge errors. Then remove the stopped boxes at home the same day.
Before you leave
- Follow-up appointment booked, with the date, department and phone number written down.
- Equipment either in your hands or with a confirmed delivery slot.
- Transport home confirmed — not "we'll sort it".
- Red-flag symptoms written in plain words, and the number to call.
Tick the list below, add anything the ward told you verbally, and print it. The checked state stays on this device.
Questions
What should be checked before hospital discharge?
Medication reconciliation including stopped medicines, the discharge summary, follow-up appointments, equipment delivery, transport, home hazards, and who provides care in the first 24 hours.
Why is medication reconciliation the priority?
Because stopping a medicine is as important as starting one, and stopped medicines frequently stay in the pill box at home. Ask explicitly which medicines were stopped.
Is this checklist medical advice?
No. It is an organisational checklist for families. Clinical decisions belong to the discharging team.
Basis & sources
Primary sources only — the statute, form or paper this page is built on.
- Shimbo D, et al. Circulation. 2020;142:e42-e63 — 2 readings >=1 min apart, AM+PM, 7 days (min 3)
- Hypertension Canada 2024 Blood Pressure Log — BP log fields: target, arm, reading #1/#2, 7-day average
- California DDS MAR tip sheet — MAR header: name, DOB, allergies
- California DDS MAR tip sheet — dose, route, frequency required
- California DDS MAR tip sheet — PRN reason and result
- California DDS MAR tip sheet — refusal reason
- 42 CFR 482.43 — discharge planning CoP