Before You Sign Out: Check Who Can Ask the Hospital About Your Parent Later

Somewhere in the discharge packet there is usually a form about records. It is easy to sign it with everything else. Read it first, because it decides whether you can call the hospital in a few days and get a straight answer.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

Day 0: still in the bed

Ask the nurse or the discharge planner which authorization forms are in the packet. Look for two kinds. The first is a release that names who may receive your parent's health information. The second is a copy of any health care power of attorney or advance directive your parent already has on file.

Check the names. Your name should be spelled exactly as it is on your ID. If a form says 'family member' or 'daughter' without a full name, ask who will actually be on the hospital record.

Ask your parent, while they are awake and able to answer, whether they want you to receive information. Keep it simple and let them answer in their own words. If your parent cannot answer that today, tell the nurse and ask what the hospital needs from you instead.

Check what each form actually does

Two different things get confused. A records release lets the hospital share information with a named person. A health care power of attorney names someone to make health decisions if your parent cannot make them. They are not the same. Ask which one you are being asked to sign, what it covers, and when it ends.

Then ask the records office, and write the answer down with the time and the person's name: what will you need from me if I call next week for the discharge summary, and will my name already be on file?

Federal privacy rules under HIPAA allow a personal representative to act for a patient in many situations. The rule is at 45 CFR 164.502(g) in the eCFR. Missouri's rules on durable powers of attorney are in Chapter 404 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri. Hospitals apply these rules through their own forms, so the form in your packet decides what the staff will actually do for you. This is not legal advice. If the power of attorney question is tangled, the hospital social worker can tell you which documents the hospital accepts.

Day 1: the car

Before you leave, make a copy of every form you signed. Photograph each page with your phone and keep the paper in the folder. On the front sheet of the folder, write the records office number and the discharge planner's direct line.

Check that the discharge summary is listed as something you can request, and that it is not only sent to the doctor who will see your parent next.

Day 2 to Day 3: the first call

Call the records office. Confirm that the release is on file under your parent's full legal name and date of birth. Ask whether you can get the discharge summary and the medication list by phone, by fax, or in person, and whether there is a fee. Hospitals set those answers themselves, so their answer is the one that counts.

If the hospital says your name is not on file, ask which form they need and whether it can be completed by phone or needs your parent's signature. Write down the reference number.

Keep the medication list in the folder with the family's copy. The family, the doctor, and the pharmacist are the people who manage the medicine, and the list is for them to use.

Day 3 to Day 7: the week

When a question comes up at a doctor's office or a pharmacy, you will need the same proof again. Keep the folder ready with the release, the power of attorney if there is one, and the records office number. Offices often ask for a form by its title or its date, so note both on the copy.

If the records office does not answer for a few days, call the hospital's main line and ask for health information management or the discharge planner. The Local Help After a Discharge page lists St. Louis-area resources if you need a next step. For how the sources in this guide were checked, see Sources.

You do not need the forms to be perfect. You need the next person who answers the phone to be able to find your name.