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Healthcare Management vocabulary · Patient Flow and Capacity

Discharge planning

Meaning in healthcare management, with examples

nounCommon term

In healthcare management, discharge planning means: Preparing early for a patient's safe exit from hospital, including medicines, follow-up appointments, equipment and support at home.

In Turkish: taburculuk planlaması

How it is used

Good practice says discharge planning should start on admission, with an expected date of discharge set early. Delays often come from waiting for medicines, transport or social care, so managers watch these steps closely.

Example sentences

  1. Discharge planning starts on the day of admission, not the day before the patient leaves.

  2. Poor discharge planning led to the patient being readmitted within a week.

Common collocations

  • start discharge planning
  • expected date of discharge
  • discharge planning meeting
  • discharge planner
  • dischargeThe point when a patient officially leaves hospital care, usually to go home, after the team decides they no longer need to stay.
  • readmissionA patient's return to hospital as an inpatient soon after discharge, often within 30 days, which may point to problems with care or with the discharge.
  • length of stayThe number of days a patient spends in hospital from admission to discharge; the average across many patients is a key efficiency measure.
  • bed managementThe daily work of tracking which beds are free, which patients need them and where each patient should go, so that beds are used well.

More terms: Patient Flow and Capacity

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.