My dad was just discharged: the first 72 hours at home

Discharge feels like the end of the scare. It’s almost always the start of a new stage, and the next 72 hours decide whether they end up back in the ER.

Updated September 2026 · Orbi, care circle

Before you leave the hospital: the 8 questions

Discharge is rushed and confusing. Ask the doctor or nurse for five minutes and write down the answers, or record them with permission:

1. Which medications does he take now, and which of the old ones stop? Ask for the list in writing. Medication errors in the first week are one of the most common reasons older adults get readmitted.
2. When is the follow-up, and with whom? Date, doctor, what to bring.
3. What are the warning signs? Fever, shortness of breath, confusion, pain, bleeding, not urinating. Ask them to spell it out for this case.
4. Can he walk, shower, climb stairs, be left alone? With how much help.
5. Does he need wound care, physical therapy or nursing at home? If so, ask for the home hospitalization order (internación domiciliaria) before you leave: that’s what health insurance (obra social) covers.
6. What can he eat and what not? Salt, sugar, fluids, food texture.
7. Who do I call if something happens? A direct number, not the switchboard.
8. Can I get the discharge summary (epicrisis)? It’s the summary of the hospital stay. Ask for it printed or by email: you’ll need it at every appointment from now on.

Before he gets home: the house

• The bed somewhere he can get in and out without steps. If he needs a hospital bed, you can rent one; with a disability certificate (CUD) or a doctor’s order, health insurance covers it.
• Clear loose rugs and cords out of the way. A night light in the hallway to the bathroom.
• The bathroom: a shower chair or stool, a non-slip mat, a grab bar if possible. It’s where falls happen.
• The new medications bought before he arrives, not "tomorrow."
• Who sleeps there the first night. Never alone for the first 72 hours.

Day 1: the medications

This is the day families make the most mistakes. The old medications and the new ones get mixed up; a blood pressure pill from home plus another from the hospital means his pressure drops too low; a blood thinner that was stopped and gets given again means bleeding. Do this, even if it feels like overkill:

• Put every bottle and blister pack in the house on the table, with the discharge list next to them.
• Anything that isn’t on the discharge list goes into a sealed bag, out of sight. Don’t throw it out: keep it until the follow-up visit.
• Fill the weekly pill organizer with someone else watching.
• Log every dose: what, how much, what time, who gave it. How to do it without losing your mind is in How to organize an aging parent’s medications.

Days 1 to 3: what to watch

Write things down two or three times a day, even if nothing seems to be happening. What matters isn’t any single number but the trend:

• Temperature (over 38 °C / 100.4 °F means the ER if there was surgery or an infection).
• Blood pressure and heart rate, if he’s supposed to monitor them.
• How much he urinates and how much he drinks. Older adults get dehydrated without feeling thirsty.
• Pain, from 0 to 10, and whether the pain medication brings it down.
• How he eats and how he sleeps.
• His mind. If he’s more confused than usual, doesn’t know where he is, or is suddenly aggressive or very drowsy, that’s a warning sign, not "just his age." Delirium after a hospital stay is common and treatable, but it has to be caught fast.
• The skin on the tailbone, heels and hips if he’s bedridden. Redness that doesn’t fade when you reposition him is the start of a pressure sore.

When should you go back to the ER?

Don’t hesitate if you see: shortness of breath, chest pain, high fever, new or sudden confusion, no urine in 8 hours, bleeding, vomiting that won’t stop, a fall with a blow to the head, or a surgical wound that’s red, hot or smells. Call the direct number they gave you; if nobody answers, go to the ER. No one will scold you for going when you didn’t need to.

And the family?

The first 72 hours run on shifts. Split up the nights, write down what happens on each shift in one single place (so whoever comes in knows what the last person saw), and decide right now who talks to the doctor at the follow-up. If this made it clear that family alone isn’t enough at home, now’s the time to request home hospitalization from the health insurance (that one they do cover) and, if he has PAMI (the national health program for retirees), the in-home caregiver subsidy. And, while it’s all fresh, to put together the emergency file, so next time you’re not starting from scratch.