Discharge Process

1. Discharge advice: Once the treating consultant decides that a patient is stable enough to be discharged, he or she will provide discharge advice to the patient or their family member/caregiver.

2. Discharge summary: The treating unit will then prepare a discharge summary, which is a document that includes a summary of the patient's hospitalization, diagnosis, treatment, and instructions for post-discharge care.

The discharge summary is an important document that is shared with the patient's primary care physician or any other healthcare provider involved in the patient's care.

A copy of the discharge summary and other relevant documents, such as lab reports and imaging studies, are provided to the patient or their caregiver. Patients are usually advised to follow up with their primary care physician or specialist as needed.

3. Medication review: A review of the patient's medications is conducted by the treating unit to determine which medications are required to be continued post-discharge. Any medications that are not required are returned to the pharmacy.

4. Billing: The billing department will generate an interim bill with all the charges incurred during the patient's hospitalization, including room charges, medical expenses, and other services utilized. This interim bill is reviewed and finalized by the Billing department

5. Payment: Once the bill is finalized and payment needs to be cleared. Insurance - To obtain final approval for insurance coverage, beneficiaries must submit their discharge summary and final bill to their insurance/TPA. If the insurance/TPA disallows any amount, it must be paid in cash before the patient can be discharged.

Check our insurance section for complete details.

Corporate beneficiaries - For patients with direct payment of medical benefits by their employer, a Credit/Referral letter provided by the HR/Personnel department needs to be submitted at the time of billing.

Patients will be informed of any items that are not covered by their employer, and these expenses must be paid in cash before the patient is discharged from the hospital.

A mandatory advance amount of Rs. 10,000 is collected at the time of admission to cover any such expenses not covered by the employer. The remaining balance is either charged or refunded to the patient at the time of discharge.

For more information, please refer to our section on Medical Benefits.