The hospital is responsible for making sure that the entry and departure of all the patients are kept on record. Just as the registration of a patient is performed when he shows a willingness to get treatment from a hospital and a form is filled out, another form is also used when a patient has been successfully treated and the doctors have allowed him to leave.
What is a hospital discharge summary form?
Medical practitioners and, in some cases, the administration staff of a medical facility create a form that is used at the time when the patient has gotten approval from the doctors to leave the hospital after the successful completion of the treatment. It is very important to update the record at the discharge of the patient from the medical facility because it confirms that the patient has left the clinic in good health and with the approval of the expert medical practitioners.
What does a medical discharge form do?
The purpose of using this form is to get a comprehensive and detailed overview of the patient and his treatment in the hospital. At any point, the management of the hospital, including the doctor, can get access to the necessary information about a sick person, such as the medical history, type of treatment the patient has received in the hospital, name of the primary healthcare practitioner who took the responsibility to treat him, duration of his stay, final comments from the doctor, and many other details.
It depends on the hospital what details it wants to gather by using the form, and then the form is designed according to it.
Is it important to use this form?
When a hospital takes a step to record the details of the patient at the time of his admittance to the hospital, it becomes essential to update the record once again when the same patient moves out of the clinic. This form is also considered to be important because it serves as the best tool that ensures communication between the management of the hospital and the doctor who is giving the treatment and it makes sure that everyone remains on the same page.
What information is gathered using the discharge form?
The form should collect the necessary details that can help a healthcare facility at any point of retrieving the data. Some basic and important details are:
Information about the patient:
It is obvious that when a form is used to track the information about the departure of a person from a hospital, it will have to record the information of the patient first. Therefore, the first section of the form is based on the personal and very detailed details of the patient, including the name, gender, date of birth, a unique patient number, and much more.
Admission and discharge information:
The next section of the form is about collecting details regarding the admission of the patient to the hospital and also about the time when the doctors allowed him to move out of the clinic. Giving both details at the same place helps the doctor and other stakeholders determine many aspects of the treatment, such as the duration of the patient’s stay in the hospital. The dates of admission and discharge are mentioned in the form.
Medical history of the patient:
Every medical treatment is usually patient-oriented, and it is focused on the medical history and treatment of the person who visits the clinic to get the best treatment and recovery from the pain they have been through. The medical history is recorded in a brief form, such as the primary diagnosis and some additional diagnoses.
Information about the treatment:
The type of treatment administered to the patient is also specified in the form.
Medication and follow-up details:
The names of the medicines the doctor has prescribed to the patient and the next date on which the patient is advised to see the doctor again is mentioned.
Signature of the physician:
The name of the doctor who has allowed the patient to leave the hospital is mentioned, and his signature is taken as a record that is proof that the patient moved out with the permission of the doctor.
