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Before Leaving the Ward, Collect Your Discharge Documents, Medicines, and Follow-up Arrangements

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Once your doctor agrees that you can be discharged, check with the ward team how to take your first medicine after leaving, who will track pending results, whom to contact if problems arise, and whether your next care arrangements are in place. If anything remains unfinished, write down who is responsible and when to contact them. A discharge order does not mean everything has been completed.

Key Points

  • Before discharge, ask your doctor or nurse to explain which existing medicines to continue, pause, or stop, and how to use new medicines. If instructions conflict, ask the prescribing team to clarify; do not choose one set yourself.
  • Write down pending results, follow-up appointments, contacts, and what to do if problems arise. Having an appointment booked is different from simply being told that you need a follow-up check.
  • Give your records from treatment in China to the doctor who will care for you after you return home. Being ready for discharge, able to stay in a hotel, and fit to fly each need separate confirmation.

Confirm Where You Will Go After Leaving

Tell the ward team whether you will stay in a hotel, transfer to another hospital, or go home, and who will accompany and care for you. Ask the team to consider your current mobility, ability to eat, and care needs when confirming whether that destination is suitable and what support you will need on the way.

If you need dressing changes, injections, tubes, or assistive devices, ask a healthcare professional to demonstrate using the actual supplies, then have the person who will provide care try it once. Find out where to get the next supply. If supplies or care cannot be arranged in time, tell the ward team before leaving and discuss workable arrangements.

Ask the team to divide changes to watch for into “get emergency help immediately,” “whom to contact the same day,” and “attend follow-up as planned.” Write down daytime and nighttime contact details. If you develop severe difficulty breathing, chest pain, heavy bleeding, a change in consciousness, or other critical changes such as sudden facial drooping, weakness on one side, or difficulty speaking, call local emergency services immediately. Do not wait for a reply from another country.

Check Your Medicine List Against the Medicines You Have

Bring out the medicines you actually used before admission, your inpatient medication record, and your discharge prescription. Ask a doctor or pharmacist to check each item, including over-the-counter medicines, herbal medicines, and supplements. Record whether each medicine is to be continued, added, paused, or stopped, along with its name, strength, dose, instructions, and length of treatment. The prescribing team should explain whether and when to restart any paused medicines.

Confirm the time of your last dose in hospital and your next dose after leaving. Make sure you have the medicines, or confirm where and when to collect them. If you will still need medicines after returning home, ask a local doctor or pharmacist in advance how to renew prescriptions and whether the corresponding medicines are available. Check requirements for carrying and storing medicines separately with the relevant authorities at your destination, your airline, and your pharmacist.

Name Contacts for Pending Results and Follow-up

List pathology, laboratory, and other pending results separately: what the test is, when the result is expected, who will review it and notify you, and whom to contact if it does not arrive. Ask who may arrange the next steps if a result is abnormal.

For follow-up appointments, write down the hospital or department, date, time, location or online method, and materials to bring. If an appointment has not yet been booked, record who is responsible for booking it and when to check again. If you will return to your home country, contact the local doctor who will take over your care to confirm that they have received your records and are willing to arrange further assessment. Remote contact with the team in China does not automatically replace local prescriptions or tests.

Organize Documents, Payments, and Transport

Ask the ward or medical records department how to obtain your discharge summary, discharge instructions, medicine list, important laboratory and imaging reports, surgery or procedure records, and any original images needed by the doctor taking over your care. For documents that may become available later, write down how to request and collect them. Keep the originals, and ask the team taking over your care in your home country in advance which languages they accept and what translation requirements apply.

Check with the billing desk about the final charges, amounts already paid, receipts, and any charges that may still be pending. If a refund is due, ask how you will receive it, whom to contact, and what reference or documentation to keep for follow-up. The hospital may process a refund at a different time from when the money reaches your bank account.

Before leaving, reconfirm who will pick you up, your destination, and any wheelchair or other necessary equipment. Ask your caregiver to explain the first day’s medicines, care, and ways to get help back to the healthcare team in their own words. Ask for clarification on the spot if anything is unclear. Write down the timing and person responsible for your first medicine after leaving, that evening’s care, and the next contact. Rehearse the steps to check whether they can be completed on time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I leave before I receive my discharge summary?

First ask the ward what interim instructions are available, when and how to collect the final documents, and who is responsible for passing them on. The clinical team will decide whether you can leave based on your circumstances.

Must I stay in hospital while waiting for test results?

Ask your doctor to assess whether the pending results affect your discharge, and have the arrangements for reviewing results, notifying you, and tracking overdue results written down. Do not rely only on being told to “check online later.”

What if the discharge medicine list differs from the instructions on my existing medicine packaging?

Contact the prescribing doctor or pharmacist to check the differences, and record their clear instructions. Do not combine the two treatment plans yourself.

What if we do not know how to manage a drainage tube?

Before leaving, ask a nurse to demonstrate, then have the actual caregiver try while the nurse checks their technique. If the caregiver still cannot manage it, tell the ward team and discuss training, care support, or another place to receive care.

If I can stay in a hotel after discharge, does that mean I can fly home?

No. Ask your treatment team to assess your current recovery and travel arrangements, and check with the airline about required documentation, equipment, and assistance.

What should I bring to my first appointment after returning home?

Bring your discharge summary, medicine list, test and treatment records, list of pending results, and questions for follow-up. Ask your local doctor whether original images or other materials are also needed.

What if I develop symptoms while my bill is still being checked?

Seek care through the emergency pathway provided by your medical team. Follow up on billing disputes separately with the billing desk or insurer. Do not let financial delays hold up emergency care.

Sources

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