During Your Hospital Stay

Daily physician visits: Your hospitalist will visit you once or more each day. These visits can feel brief — prepare your most important questions in advance so you don’t forget them.

Questions worth asking every day:

• What are we treating, and is the plan working?

• What do today’s test results mean?

• What needs to happen before I can go home?

• Are there any new medications, and why?

• Who else is on my care team today?

Medication changes: It’s very common for your hospital medications to differ from what you take at home. This is intentional — your condition in the hospital may require different doses or different drugs. Before discharge, always confirm which medications you should continue at home and which to stop.

Shift changes: Nurses and hospitalists work in shifts. Your care is carefully handed off between providers using detailed notes and verbal communication. If a new face walks in, it’s okay to ask who they are and what their role is.

Speaking up: If something feels wrong — a new symptom, a medication that doesn’t seem right, pain that’s getting worse — tell your nurse immediately. You know your body. Trust that instinct.

Understanding Your Diagnosis

Hospitals move fast, and it can be hard to keep up with what’s actually happening to your body. Here are a few tips:

• Ask your doctor to explain your diagnosis in plain language, without medical jargon

• Ask what caused this, what the treatment is, and what the expected recovery looks like

• If you receive a new diagnosis during your stay, ask what it means for your life going forward and whether you’ll need follow-up care

• Request a written summary before you leave — most hospitals provide a discharge summary that outlines everything

Preparing for Discharge

Going home is exciting — but the days right after discharge are actually a high-risk period. Many patients end up back in the hospital within 30 days because of gaps in follow-up care or confusion about their instructions.

Before you leave, make sure you can answer these questions:

✔ What is my diagnosis and what caused it?

✔ What medications am I taking and what changed from before?

✔ What symptoms should send me back to the ER?

✔ When is my follow-up appointment and with whom?

✔ Do I need any home health services, equipment, or special diet?

✔ Are there any activity restrictions?

If you don’t have clear answers to all of these, ask before you leave. Your discharge nurse and case manager can also help.

After You Go Home

Recovery takes time. Be patient with yourself and stay connected with your outpatient doctors. A few reminders:

• Keep your follow-up appointments — even if you feel fine. Many important decisions get made at that first post-discharge visit.

• Fill your prescriptions the same day you go home — don’t wait until you feel worse.

• Call your doctor’s office if you have questions about your discharge instructions. That’s what they’re there for.

• Watch for warning signs — fever, shortness of breath, chest pain, worsening pain, inability to keep medications down, or any sudden change. When in doubt, call or go in.

  
  

Helpful Resources

Never Ignore Small Wounds — why even minor skin injuries deserve attention

Take Your Medications as Prescribed — why adherence matters more than you think

What is Hospital Medicine? — a deeper look at the specialty that cares for you during a hospitalization

More patient education content added regularly.