Why the first two weeks after discharge need a plan
The first two weeks after hospital discharge are when loose ends show up. You are tired, your medications have changed, and the people taking over your care may not have the full story yet.
The tasks below are in order of urgency. A family member or friend can do most of them for you.
The first two days at home
- Read the discharge papers in full. Mark anything unclear and find the number for questions.
- Check your medications. Compare the discharge list with the bottles in the house and pick up new prescriptions.
- Confirm follow-up appointments. Put every date, time and place on one calendar. If the papers say to follow up but give no date, call that office.
- Find out who is coming. If home health, therapy or equipment was ordered and you have not heard from anyone, ask the hospital’s case manager which agency or supplier received the order.
- Tell your primary care office you are home. Do not assume the hospital did.
Getting the medication list right
A hospital stay often changes your medications while the old bottles are still in the cabinet. Look for:
- A medicine on the discharge list that you do not have
- A medicine at home that is missing from the list
- The same medicine under two names or in two strengths
- A short-course medicine, such as an antibiotic, with a stop date
- A medicine the hospital put on hold, with no restart date
Do not settle a mismatch by guessing, and do not start, stop or change anything on your own. Write the question down and call the prescriber, your pharmacist or the number on your discharge papers.
Then update your own list. Our guide to keeping an up-to-date medication list shows a simple format, and a medication review at the first follow-up visit checks it against the bottles.
Follow-up visits and unfinished results
The most important appointment is usually the one with primary care, because that clinician takes over the whole plan. Your papers give the timeframe the hospital wants. Our page on follow-up care after hospital discharge explains what that visit covers.
Some lab tests, cultures and scan reports are not finished when you leave. Ask the hospital which results are still pending and who will tell you about them, and take the answer to the visit.
If you cannot manage every specialist appointment, ask the primary care clinician which matter most.
If you came home with a wound
Discharge orders for a dressing cover the first days. Before they run out, you should know:
- Who is in charge of the wound now
- Who changes the dressing, and how often
- How many days of supplies you have
- Which changes should make you call
Gateway arranges wound follow-up after hospital discharge with partner clinicians, including follow-up for post-surgical wounds. Families can work through our discharge checklist for a wound.
Eating, moving and keeping notes
Appetite and strength are often low at first. Try small meals more often, and drink fluids unless you were told to limit them. Move as your instructions allow, and stand up slowly, since days in bed make falls more likely.
A few lines in a notebook each day help at the follow-up visit: how you slept, what you ate, your pain, your bowels, how the dressing looked, and any reading you were asked to take, such as weight or temperature.
Changes to report, and when to call 911
Call your clinician for:
- Fever or chills
- A wound with spreading redness, more drainage, a new smell or edges pulling apart
- Pain that is getting worse
- Being unable to eat, drink or keep medicine down
- New leg swelling or quick weight gain
- New confusion, dizziness or a fall
Call 911 for chest pain, trouble breathing, fainting, sudden confusion, bleeding that will not stop, or signs of a stroke such as a drooping face, weakness on one side or slurred speech.
How Gateway can help
Gateway arranges in-home primary care follow-up and wound care with partner clinicians across Greater St. Louis and the Metro East. We keep your existing physician involved. We can gather the discharge paperwork for the treating clinician, who makes every clinical decision, and follow up on supply orders.
Call 314-325-0126 or send the request care form with a name and phone number only. Visit availability depends on your location and care setting. Gateway is not an emergency service.
Common questions
What if nobody from home health has called me?
Call the hospital unit or its case management office and ask which agency received the order and when. Then call the agency yourself. If you still cannot get an answer, tell your primary care office so the clinician can follow up on the order.
I never got a discharge summary. How do I get one?
The papers you carried home are usually instructions, not the full summary. The hospital physician writes the summary, and it may be finished a few days later. Ask the hospital’s medical records department for it, or look in the patient portal, and ask that a copy go to your primary care clinician.
Is it normal to feel weaker at home than I did in the hospital?
Many people notice it. At home you do more for yourself, and illness and bed rest take strength that returns slowly. Tell your clinician if you are getting weaker, sleeping most of the day, or unable to do what you managed a few days earlier.
Who do I call with a question at night or on a weekend?
Check your discharge papers for an after-hours number, and ask your primary care office how its after-hours line works before you need it. Keep both numbers by the phone. For anything that could be an emergency, call 911 instead of waiting for a call back.
Related pages
General information to help you talk with your own clinician. It is not medical advice, and the treating clinician makes every clinical decision. For a medical emergency, call 911.
Updated October 2026