One page of the discharge orders from my mom's emergency visit. Because it was not too serious, I visited a day or two later. Her fall resulted in a short hospitalization about two weeks later.
In this day of electronic medical records, EMR’s for short, why can’t a hospital with an e-mail or fax number on file send off a copy of the discharge orders to the adult child designated by the elder parent?
Given that the private sector has figured out a way to help adult children keep track of utility bills and bank accounts, it seems like it might be easy to implement, even while keeping privacy considerations front and center.
The opportunity to read and understand the diagnosis and the specific steps that are required for recovery would help an adult children, who cannot always be right at a parent’s side, stay informed and take more knowledgeable steps to help an elder parent recover.
How about it hospitals?
As Our Parents Age So Do We 