Write Discharge Instructions That Guide Patients to a Healthy Recovery

Every provider has been there: You hand a patient their discharge packet, explain the instructions, and watch them nod along like everything’s crystal clear. Two days later, they’re back in the ER with complications that could have been avoided if they’d actually followed the plan.

The problem isn’t always that patients are being careless. Sometimes discharge instructions are unclear. Medical language is dense. Packets are long. People are stressed, tired, or medicated. In that state, even simple steps can get lost.

Good discharge instructions ensure patient safety, outcomes, and trust. If you want patients to follow through, you need to write instructions that stick. Here’s how we recommend: 

Step One: Cut the Jargon, Keep the Clarity

Telling patients to “increase ambulation as tolerated” may sound fine to you. To them, it sounds like homework from a medical textbook.

Instead try: “Walk a little more each day, but stop if it hurts or makes you dizzy.”

Clarity makes sure your patients can repeat the instructions back without guessing. Swap jargon for everyday words wherever you can.

Step Two: Organize by Priority

Patients leave with information overload. Don’t bury the most important directions under a mountain of secondary details. Put the critical steps first:

1. Medications: What to take, when, how much.

2. Warning signs: What requires a call or ER visit.

3. Follow-up care: Next appointment, referrals, labs.

Supporting details can come after. If patients remember nothing else, they should walk away knowing the top three actions.

Step Three: Use Short Sentences and Bullet Points

Discharge packets often read like walls of text. That guarantees patients won’t read them. Break instructions into short sentences and bullet points. Example:

Instead of: “It is important to maintain adequate hydration and avoid strenuous activity for a period of 7–10 days following your procedure.”

Try:

• Drink plenty of water.

• Avoid heavy exercise for one week.

The difference is night and day.

Step Four: Translate Numbers Into Plain Guidance

Dosages, timeframes, and limits are where patients trip up. Translate numbers into something they can picture.

• Instead of: “Take 500 mg every 6 hours.”

• Try: “Take one pill four times a day: breakfast, lunch, dinner, bedtime.”

  
  

• Instead of: “Limit lifting to 5 pounds.”

• Try: “Don’t lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk.”

Concrete comparisons stick better than abstract numbers.

Step Five: Add Visuals Where You Can

Not every instruction needs a diagram, but when you’re explaining wound care, exercises, or medication schedules, visuals help. Simple charts or illustrations beat paragraphs of text.

ProTip: Provide links to short videos. Patients already learn half their life skills from YouTube. You might as well meet them there.

Step Six: Reinforce With Teach-Back

Written instructions only work if patients understand them before they leave. That’s where teach-back comes in: ask patients to repeat instructions in their own words.

• Instead of: “Do you understand?”

• Try: “Can you tell me how you’ll take your medication when you get home?”

Teach-back feels small, but it’s the single best way to catch misunderstandings before they lead to readmissions.

Step Seven: Cover the “What Ifs”

Patients panic when something unexpected happens. Anticipate the questions:

• What if they miss a dose?

• What if the bandage gets wet?

• What if pain doesn’t improve?

Answer these in the instructions. When patients know what’s normal and what isn’t, they’re less likely to ignore warning signs or flood your phone lines with avoidable calls.

Step Eight: Tailor to the Patient, Not the Template

Templates save time, but they don’t fit everyone. Tailor instructions to the patient’s specific situation:

• Note their preferred pharmacy.

• Include mobility or dietary restrictions.

• Adjust for language preferences and literacy levels.

Generic instructions feel impersonal and confusing. Personalized ones feel doable.

Step Nine: Use Plain, Supportive Language

Tone matters. A line like, “Failure to comply may result in readmission,” might be legally sound, but it sounds cold. Try: “Following these steps will help you recover faster and avoid another hospital visit.”

Supportive language motivates. Threatening language shuts people down.

Step Ten: Make Contact Info Impossible to Miss

Every discharge sheet should have a big, bold line: Call us at [number] if you have questions. Patients shouldn’t need to shuffle through five pages to find it.

Better yet, add direct lines for common issues: medication refills, urgent concerns, and appointment scheduling. The easier you make it to ask, the more likely patients will get help before it becomes an emergency.

Step Eleven: Reinforce Digitally

Paper gets lost. Patients forget. Follow up with texts, emails, or portal reminders. A simple, “Remember to change your bandage today,” or “Time for your next dose,” can make a huge difference in adherence.

Step Twelve: Keep Testing and Improving

Not sure if your instructions are landing? Test them. Ask patients in follow-up calls what was clear and what wasn’t. Collect feedback. Adjust templates.

Clarity is a moving target. The more you refine, the more likely patients are to follow through.

Patients don’t fail discharge instructions because they don’t care. They fail because the instructions are confusing, overwhelming, or forgettable. Your job is to cut the noise, keep it simple, and reinforce the essentials.

Use short words, clear steps, relatable examples, and a supportive tone. Add visuals. Personalize. Double-check with teach-back. Follow up digitally. Every adjustment you make is one less patient back in the ER because they didn’t know what to do at home.

Need help rewriting discharge instructions, patient education materials, or care guides so people actually follow them? At Borrowed Pen, we specialize in turning complex medical directions into language patients understand and trust. Work with us, and let’s make your instructions stick.