Patients too often leave the hospital without knowing how to care for themselves, leading to a preventable return. Here are tips to improve your chances of a successful recovery at home:
_Be sure you understand your illness and the care you received in the hospital.
_Ask if you will require help at home. Can you bathe yourself? Climb stairs? Will you need bandages changed or shots? If so, do you have a caregiver to help, or will you need to arrange a visiting nurse?
_Repeat back your care instructions, to be sure you understand them.
_Ask for a written discharge plan that lists your medical conditions, your treatments, and the plan for your ongoing care.
_Get a list of all medications, how to use them, and what to do if you experience side effects. Be sure to ask whether to continue medications you were taking before this hospitalization.
_Ask what symptoms suggest you're getting worse and what to do if that happens, especially at night or during the weekend.
_What follow-up appointments will you need and when? Ask if your hospital will make the appointments for you, and send your records.
_Do you have transportation home, to follow-up appointments, and to the drugstore?
_If you have a regular physician, make sure the hospital sends a report of your hospital stay.
_If you are uninsured or will have difficulty affording prescriptions, a hospital discharge planner or social worker may be able to link you to community resources that can help.
_Get a name and number to call if questions about your hospitalization or discharge arise.