1. Diagnosis — do you actually understand it?
The first line will say something like 'Type 2 Diabetes with Diabetic Nephropathy'. Ask your doctor to explain it in the simplest possible words. If you can't repeat it back to your family, you don't understand it well enough.
2. Medicine changes vs continuing medicines
The discharge medicine list often mixes NEW medicines (started in hospital) with OLD ones (you were already on). Ask for a clear split. Which ones do you continue forever? Which ones stop after the course finishes? Which ones replaced older medicines?
3. When exactly to take each medicine
Before food or after? Morning or night? Empty stomach? With water only, or fine with chai? Some medicines (thyroid, some antibiotics) don't work if taken with food. Some (painkillers) hurt your stomach without food. Get this right for each pill.
4. Follow-up appointment — booked?
'Follow-up in 15 days' is not an appointment. Ask if they've booked one, or how you book one. Note whose OPD, which day, which time, and whether you need to fast for any tests before.
5. Tests to repeat and when
Discharge summaries often include 'repeat CBC in 7 days' or 'HbA1c in 3 months'. Note them down separately in your phone calendar. Nobody will remind you.
6. Warning signs — when to come back to ER
Every good discharge summary lists 'return to ER if...'. Read this section carefully. Common warning signs: high fever after a procedure, uncontrolled pain, bleeding, weakness on one side, chest pain, breathlessness.
7. Dietary restrictions
Post-cardiac diet, diabetic diet, low-sodium diet, low-protein diet, no oily food for 6 weeks — get this in writing, not verbally. A dietitian consult before discharge is worth requesting if you don't have one.
8. Activity restrictions
When can you go back to work, to the gym, to driving, to sex, to lifting heavy things? These questions feel awkward — ask them anyway. Vague answers like 'take it easy' aren't useful.
9. Documents you need for insurance
You'll need: discharge summary, final bill (with breakdown), all reports, prescriptions, doctor's certificate, and any implant stickers (for cardiac stents, orthopaedic hardware). Confirm you have all these before you leave.
10. Who to call when you have questions
Get a phone number of someone in the treating doctor's team — the resident, the nurse coordinator, or the OPD receptionist. Real questions come up at 9pm on a Sunday, not during OPD hours.