Hospital Discharge Checklist: What to Check Before You Leave

The day before, or the morning of

• Ask the team during rounds what still has to happen before discharge, and who is handling each piece.
• Confirm your ride and your support person are actually available today, not just on call.
• Make sure someone can be there, or reachable by phone, the moment discharge teaching is offered.
• Think honestly about who will actually be home that first night.
• If your family member has Medicare, confirm they were given the Important Message from Medicare within the first two days of admission.

The discharge papers themselves

• Confirm the packet includes a discharge summary or discharge instructions.
• Confirm it includes a complete, reconciled medication list that matches what is actually in the discharge bag.
• Confirm the follow-up instructions include an actual date, time and office, not just "follow up in one week."
• Confirm the red-flag symptoms are specific to this diagnosis or procedure, not generic wording.
• Confirm any equipment order is paired with an actual delivery date, not just a written order.
• Read the instructions back to the nurse in your own words, and let them correct anything you got wrong.

Medications

• List every new medication by name, dose, frequency and reason.
• Get every stopped medication in writing, by name and dose.
• Ask about any high-risk interactions to watch for.
• Ask which medication matters most, the one to call about if a dose is missed.
• Confirm who to call with medication questions once you are home.
• If two documents disagree on a medication, ask the nurse to reconcile it in writing before you leave.
• If leaving on a weekend or in the evening, ask the hospital pharmacy for a starter supply of any new medication.

Follow-up care and who to call

• Confirm which follow-up appointments are critical, not just suggested.
• Confirm those appointments have actually been scheduled, not just recommended.
• If they have not been scheduled yet, ask who is responsible for scheduling them.
• Ask how lab work will be handled: same lab, a new lab, or a home draw.
• If home health is involved, confirm when the first visit happens and what it will cover.
• Get a specific name and number for each red-flag concern, not just the hospital's main line.

Equipment and getting home

• Confirm exactly what equipment is needed at home.
• Confirm what has already been ordered, and when it will actually arrive.
• Confirm what needs to be in place before you get home.
• Address any mobility, stair or bathroom concerns before you leave.
• If leaving on a weekend or in the evening, ask for a specific equipment delivery window, and whether it lands before or after the weekend.
• Confirm the home health referral has actually been sent, with an agency name attached, not just "we will refer you."

If the plan does not feel safe

This is not legal advice, and it does not replace the notice you were actually given. For the full Medicare fast-appeal process and California's discharge-planning protections, see our guides to appealing a hospital discharge and your rights if you don't feel ready.

• If you are being sent home with no written instructions, no medication list and no follow-up appointment, say so before you leave the unit.
• If equipment or home health was supposedly ordered but nobody can confirm it is actually arranged, say so before you leave.
• Ask to see the hospital's written discharge plan, and say specifically what part is not in place yet.
• Ask directly, in writing, every day: is my family member officially an inpatient, or under observation?
• If your family member has Medicare and you believe the discharge is unsafe, call for a fast appeal no later than the day discharge is scheduled. In California that is Commence Health, 877-588-1123, TTY 711.
• If your family member is not on Medicare, ask the hospital's discharge planner or patient advocate for the written discharge plan California law requires.

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