I’m truly curious. Not even trying to complain, I understand the hospitals are full but like what takes so long to print paperwork?
UPDATE: Thank you all for your input and responses, it definitely helped the time pass by. We are home now. I do understand waiting is not suffering but at some point something has to give. We have an infant and toddler who had to be left with family and we were anxious to get home to them. I understand we are not the only people who have ever had to wait for discharge. I was truly curious as to what the hold up is. After getting incoming responses seeming to state that this is normal, it all got to me. This should not be normal and the patient, critical or not, should not have to get the short end of the stick. Reality or not. In a perfect world I guess.
Sorry to all the underpaid, over worked staff.
In: 241
doctors need to ensure you’re healthy enough, prepare a discharge plan, and organize your medications and medical supplies. Additionally, paperwork needs to be completed, which can take time to process. Hospital staff wants to ensure everything is done correctly, so they take their time to ensure your safety and health when you leave.
No one’s got the real answer here. To be discharged from the hospital:
1. your doc needs to see you and write discharge orders. Good docs will write them right away, if your on a teaching service with residents, they may have to wait until they round with their attending which is often late morning. Sometimes they’re waiting on a final read of a study, etc… sometime they just get busy with other patients.
2. Nurse sees that order and works with clerk to schedule any follow up appointments and pharmacy to start filling your discharge meds. Unfortunately, everyone is being discharged at the same time so pharmacy often gets pretty backed up at this time.
3. You’re meds are ready, appointments scheduled, rides ready. Now the nurse needs to have enough time in their schedule between treating sick patients, mandated breaks, etc… to review your discharge instructions, remove your iv, possibly wheel you down to the front.
Trust me- the hospital administrators 100% want early discharges to clear those beds for other patients, but medical, pharmacy, and nursing staff stretched thin make it take much longer than it should.
doctors need to ensure you’re healthy enough, prepare a discharge plan, and organize your medications and medical supplies. Additionally, paperwork needs to be completed, which can take time to process. Hospital staff wants to ensure everything is done correctly, so they take their time to ensure your safety and health when you leave.
They need to know you are going to be safe once you are out of hospital, so that there is someone at home in case you need support and that you have all the medication you need and that the doctors have confirmed you are fit to leave.
I’ve been a nurse for 23 years. EDs suck. Unless your actively dying then there is alway someone sicker than you they have to attend to.
[deleted]
I’m assuming you’re in the US?
Tons of paperwork (or computer work, now). This is all for the lawyers. Docs required to discharge paperwork but they’re either tied up in surgery or in clinic.
All the documentation and bureaucracy is due to lawyers. We so badly need tort reform, it’s never happening because lawyers are also the legislators.
No one’s got the real answer here. To be discharged from the hospital:
1. your doc needs to see you and write discharge orders. Good docs will write them right away, if your on a teaching service with residents, they may have to wait until they round with their attending which is often late morning. Sometimes they’re waiting on a final read of a study, etc… sometime they just get busy with other patients.
2. Nurse sees that order and works with clerk to schedule any follow up appointments and pharmacy to start filling your discharge meds. Unfortunately, everyone is being discharged at the same time so pharmacy often gets pretty backed up at this time.
3. You’re meds are ready, appointments scheduled, rides ready. Now the nurse needs to have enough time in their schedule between treating sick patients, mandated breaks, etc… to review your discharge instructions, remove your iv, possibly wheel you down to the front.
Trust me- the hospital administrators 100% want early discharges to clear those beds for other patients, but medical, pharmacy, and nursing staff stretched thin make it take much longer than it should.
They need to know you are going to be safe once you are out of hospital, so that there is someone at home in case you need support and that you have all the medication you need and that the doctors have confirmed you are fit to leave.
I’ve been a nurse for 23 years. EDs suck. Unless your actively dying then there is alway someone sicker than you they have to attend to.
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