---
title: Discharge Checklist
description: Checklist for discharging patient from stroke service
url: "https://vghneuro.ca/docs/cerner-discharge-checklist/"
updated: "2025-12-13"
category: Clinical
tags:
  - checklists
  - documentation
---

# Discharge Checklist

1. Confirm the follow-up physician
   - Usually the first attending who saw the patient
   - Ask if patient was seen by Dr. CM, or if you are unsure
2. Place Continuing Care Follow Up VGH order (preferred over Referral order)
   - See figure for details
3. Arrange all other necessary follow up
   - Referral order if one exists, otherwise create a Provider Letter and send to the consulting physician
   - **Do not rely on instructions in the discharge summary -- "by way of this letter" is not acceptable**
4. Reorder tests for outpatient (all pending inpatient tests will be cancelled)
   - Change Ordering Physician to the follow up physician (see figure 2)
   - If unable to set Ordering MD, add Follow up MD to CC list
   - Future visit = Yes, Schedule as = Outpatient
5. Tidy the diagnosis list
   - Write descriptive 'display as', using full spellings for the main diagnosis
     - Ischemic stroke, right MCA, secondary to atrial fibrillation, S/P TPA is better than R MCA occlusion
     - Intracerebral hemorrhage, right lentiform, secondary to hypertension is better than BG HTN ICH
   - Set important diagnoses to 'Chronic' so they will appear on the past medical history (e.g. ischemic strokes, intracerebral hemorrhage, atrial fibrillation, etc.)
6. Write the discharge summary*
   - Write a good title e.g. Stroke Discharge - Ischemic stroke, new atrial fibrillation
   - Distribute to Follow Up MD (they won't get a copy otherwise)

## Figures

![](https://i0.wp.com/vghneuro.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Screenshot-2025-12-13-at-11.11.56.png?resize=1024%2C376&ssl=1)

Figure 1: Details for the continuing care order

![](https://i0.wp.com/vghneuro.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Screenshot-2025-12-13-at-11.13.35.png?resize=1024%2C345&ssl=1)

Figure 2: Changing the Ordering Physician for an order

![](https://i0.wp.com/vghneuro.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Screenshot-2025-12-13-at-11.19.24.png?resize=1024%2C424&ssl=1)

Figure 3 - Update Active Issues list, using descriptive 'Display As' and setting chronic flags

![](https://i0.wp.com/vghneuro.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Screenshot-2025-12-13-at-11.27.32.png?w=1100&ssl=1)

Figure 4 - Tap Modify to write Display As text

### *Related*