Questions to Ask Before You Leave the Hospital or Another Care Setting

What Questions Should You Ask Before Hospital Discharge?

Before you leave a hospital, nursing home, or other care setting, ask about your health condition, your medicine changes, your follow-up appointments, and exactly who to call if a problem comes up. Writing down the answers before you walk out the door makes it far easier to avoid mix-ups once you’re home.

By Clear Health Evidence Editorial Desk. Last updated September 8, 2026.

What If You Feel It’s Unsafe or Too Soon to Leave?

If you develop a medical emergency after discharge — such as chest pain, trouble breathing, sudden confusion, or heavy bleeding — call your local emergency number or go to the nearest emergency department right away. Don’t wait to reach your regular doctor first.

If you feel you’re being asked to leave a hospital or other care setting too soon, you may have the right to ask for a review of that decision before you go. In a hospital, staff should give you a notice explaining this right and how to reach the review organization for your area. If you don’t get that notice, ask for it.

The Discharge Conversation: A Simple Decision Path

You don’t need to cover everything at once. Use this path to decide what to ask first, and bring it up with a discharge planner, social worker, or nurse during your stay — not just on the day you leave.

If you’re unsure where you’ll get care next → ask about your options and tell staff your preference before decisions are finalized.
If any medicine on your discharge list looks new, changed, or missing compared with what you took before → ask why, before you leave, not after.
If you’ll need help with daily tasks (bathing, cooking, getting to appointments) → say so now, so support can be arranged before discharge.
If you won’t have written instructions you can actually read and understand → ask for them before you go.

What Should You Ask About Your Care and Recovery?

Where will I get care after I leave? Do I have a choice between options, such as home health care versus a facility?
What can I do to help myself recover, based on the condition I was treated for?
What problems should I watch for, and what should I do if one happens?
Who do I call with questions after I leave, and what number should I use?
If someone is helping care for me at home, what tasks might they need training or support for, such as changing a bandage?

What Should You Ask About Your Medicines?

Medicine changes are one of the most common sources of confusion after a care transition. Ask for time to go through your medicine list with staff before you leave.

Can we review my full medicine list together, including prescriptions, over-the-counter products, vitamins, and herbal supplements?
Which medicines am I stopping, starting, or changing the dose of, compared with what I was taking before this stay?
For anything I took before but haven’t been told to restart, should I ask my regular doctor about it rather than restarting it on my own?
Who can I call if I have a medicine question after I get home?

Staff can explain what a medicine is for and how to take it. Deciding whether to start, stop, or change a dose is a decision for you and your treating clinicians — this page can’t make that decision for you.

What Should You Ask About Equipment, Daily Tasks, and Support?

Will I need any equipment at home, such as a walker or oxygen? Who is arranging that?
Am I ready to manage daily tasks such as bathing, dressing, cooking, or getting to appointments — and if not, who can help?
Do I have someone lined up to support me at home, and does that person know what to expect?
Would it help to speak with a social worker about coping with this illness, or about insurance and cost questions?
If I have Medicare and limited income, could I qualify for Extra Help toward prescription drug costs? Where can I get more information?

What Should You Ask About Follow-Up Appointments and Records?

Can I get written discharge instructions I can actually read and understand, along with a summary of my current health status?
What appointments or tests do I need in the next few weeks, and who is scheduling them?
Should I bring my updated medicine list to those appointments?
If I have Medicare and I’m choosing a home health agency or nursing home, where can I compare quality information for options in my area?

A Printable Discharge Checklist

Copy this list onto paper, or print this page, and check off each item as you and any caregiver complete it during your stay.

Asked where I’ll receive care next, and shared my preference with staff
Wrote down my caregiver’s name and phone number, if applicable
Asked what to watch for health-wise, and got a contact number for problems
Reviewed my full medicine list with staff, including what changed
Got a contact number for medicine questions after I leave
Asked about equipment needs and who is arranging them
Identified which daily tasks I may need help with
Asked about training for any specialized caregiving tasks
Got written discharge instructions and a summary of my current health status
Wrote down upcoming appointments, tests, and phone numbers
Asked any remaining questions before leaving

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I disagree with the timing of my discharge?

You may have the right to ask for a review of the decision before you leave. Hospital staff should give you a notice explaining this right and how to contact the review organization for your area — ask for it if you don’t receive one.

Who should I call if I have a question about a medicine after I get home?

Ask staff, before you leave, for the name and phone number of a specific person to call with medicine questions. Write it down along with your updated medicine list.

Do I need to redo my medicine list every time I’m discharged?

Yes. Medicines are often added, stopped, or changed during a hospital or care-setting stay, so review and update your list at every discharge, not just the first time.

What is a discharge planner?

A discharge planner is a staff member — often a nurse or social worker — who helps coordinate your transition out of a hospital or care setting, including follow-up care, equipment, and support needs.

Where can I find help paying for prescriptions after I leave?

If you have Medicare and limited income and resources, you may qualify for Extra Help toward prescription drug costs. Ask staff or visit Medicare.gov for more information before you assume you can’t afford a medicine.

What This Guide Is and Isn’t

This page organizes discharge-planning questions drawn from Medicare’s official patient discharge checklist, published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). It’s written for general education. It does not diagnose, prescribe, or tell you whether to start, stop, or change any treatment or medicine — those are decisions to make with the clinicians caring for you. See our Editorial Policy for how we select and verify sources, and our Medical Information Disclaimer for the full scope and limits of this content.

For more on how we choose and verify sources, see How We Research. If you’re new to this site, Start Here is a good place to see the other reader paths we cover.

Sources

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Discharge Planning Checklist, Medicare.gov.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Your Discharge Planning Checklist: For Patients and Their Caregivers (CMS Product No. 11376).

This page is for general education and is not medical advice. Clear Health Evidence is an independent educational publication and is not a physician, medical practice, or clinic.