What do I do in the first week after my parent comes home from the hospital?

The first days at home can feel like a lot: new medicines, new papers, new appointments. This is a day by day guide of questions to ask, drawn from caregiver and medication safety organizations. It is not medical advice. For anything about your parent's health, ask the care team or the pharmacist. If you want more on this stage, see our page on what comes after the hospital and our guide to hospital discharge apps.

Checklist for the first week

• Written discharge instructions and discharge summary in one folder
• One combined list of medicines: before the hospital, and now
• A phone number you can call any time, including weekends
• Follow-up appointments booked, with transport sorted
• Equipment and home safety checked
• A plan for who helps on which day, including you getting a break

Before you leave the hospital (Day 0)

Family Caregiver Alliance (caregiver.org) suggests asking the discharge planner to slow down if things feel rushed, and being honest about your own limits so the plan fits what you can really do. Ask for all instructions in writing. If your parent needs a special task done at home, such as wound care, ask to be shown how, and show them you can do it.

Ask who to call with questions, and get a number that is answered 24 hours a day, weekends included.

Day 1: Make one medicine list

Family Caregiver Alliance suggests comparing the list of medicines from before the hospital with the discharge list, to spot duplicates, omissions and possible problems with over the counter products or supplements. For each new or changed medicine, ask why it is prescribed, how long to take it, how you will know it is working, and which side effects to report and to whom. Also ask about food, and whether it can be crushed or mixed.

A Canadian medication safety poster for clinicians, from ISMP Canada, describes a real gap here: changes made in hospital are not always passed on to the family. Ask directly which medicines were stopped, changed or added.

Day 2: Call the pharmacist

Pharmacists are a good first call because they see the whole medicine list. Our guide on what to ask the pharmacist has the questions.

The ISMP Canada poster lists taking 5 or more medications, and multiple medication changes, among the things that put a patient at risk of a medication related readmission. It recommends referring patients for follow-up with their community pharmacist or primary care provider.

Day 3: Book and confirm follow-up

Family Caregiver Alliance suggests asking which providers your parent needs to see, whether those visits are already booked, and who to call if not. Confirm the location and arrange transport. Ask how the family doctor will receive the hospital records.

Ask the care team when the first follow-up visit should happen for your parent. Timing depends on the person and the country.

Day 4: Check the home

Look at what is needed at home: a shower chair, commode, rails, clear walkways, secured cords and rugs. Family Caregiver Alliance suggests finding out where each item comes from and who pays. Ask the discharge team or a social worker, not a guess from the internet.

Day 5: Write down what you notice

Keep short notes: appetite, sleep, pain, mood, any new symptom, any dose that was missed. These are the facts the doctor and pharmacist will ask for. If something worries you, do not wait for the appointment. Call the number you were given, or your local emergency number if it feels urgent.

Days 6 and 7: Look after the helper

Family Caregiver Alliance says to be honest about your own physical, financial, work and childcare limits. Ask a social worker about support for yourself, and share tasks with other family. If you live far away, our long distance caregiver checklist can help.

Country notes

• Canada: Services differ by province. Ask the discharge team what home care, pharmacy follow-up and equipment support are available where your parent lives. Northern Health in British Columbia publishes a "Things to know before you leave the hospital" checklist that covers: who will pick you up, the medications and doses, why, when and how to take them, side effects, how to dispose of medicines no longer needed, when and how test results arrive, follow-up appointments, home changes and home care arrangements, and warning signs to look for (fever, redness, swelling). It tells people to call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 or their doctor or nurse practitioner's office with questions.
• United States: Family Caregiver Alliance notes that if you disagree with a discharge decision, you can raise concerns in writing with the discharge planner right away, and Medicare patients can request an immediate appeal.
• Australia: The Victorian Government's Better Health Channel suggests asking before you leave what you can and can't do at home, which warning signs mean you should call a health professional or return to hospital, which follow-up appointments you need, and what aids or home help to arrange. It also says to bring a family member, friend or support person to discharge discussions, and to take notes because the discharge plan will probably not be written down. It warns that some items, such as certain home aids, may not be covered by Medicare or private health insurance. A Western Australian Health pamphlet says to make an appointment with the family GP as soon as possible after discharge, and to bring the discharge summary, the follow-up appointment card, new prescriptions and all medicines.

A note from Cureva

Cureva is a personal and family health companion app for people who look after a parent or someone close. You can keep a medicine list and doctor notes in one place and share the medicine list with family caregivers. Cureva is launching soon, and there is a waitlist on cureva.app.

Get the free Medicine and Doctor Sheet to print for the first week: https://cureva.app/free?utm_source=seo_first-week-after-hospital-discharge

Sources

• Family Caregiver Alliance, "Hospital Discharge Planning: A Guide for Families and Caregivers": https://www.caregiver.org/resource/hospital-discharge-planning-guide-families-and-caregivers/
• AARP, "Why Pharmacists Should Be Every Caregiver's Go-To Ally": https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/medical/partner-with-a-pharmacist/
• ISMP Canada, "Hospital to Home" medication safety poster (2015): https://www.ismp-canada.org/download/transitions/Hospital2home_poster201502.pdf
• Northern Health (BC), "Things to know before you leave the hospital" checklist: https://www.northernhealth.ca/sites/northern_health/files/services/hospital-services/leaving-hospital/leaving-hospital-checklist.pdf
• Better Health Channel (Victorian Government), discharge from hospital: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/servicesandsupport/major-trauma-discharge-from-hospital
• Healthy WA (Western Australian Medication Safety Group), "How to manage your medicines after going home from hospital": https://www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/~/media/Files/Corporate/general-documents/WATAG/WAMSG/How-to-manage-meds-dl.pdf