Preparing for a transition from the hospital to post-acute care can be challenging for both patients and the discharge planning team. Many patients leave the hospital unsure about what to expect in post-acute care and concerned about how the next setting will be able to meet their needs. Meanwhile, discharge planners don’t always have the time or resources to ease patients’ worries about what care will be like beyond the hospital.
Setting patient expectations about post-acute care prior to hospital discharge can be critical to improving the patient experience and facilitating a safe transition. These cheat sheets take patients through the basics of going to post-acute care, explain what their experience will be like, and answer frequently asked questions about each post-acute setting.