Ensuring Your PCP Receives Your Discharge Summary
How do I make sure my primary care doctor gets my discharge summary?
Request a printed copy before leaving the hospital and bring it to your PCP appointment yourself — studies show up to 75% of discharge summaries never reach the PCP before the first follow-up visit. Also call your PCP's office within 48 hours of discharge to confirm they received it electronically, and fax or deliver your copy if they haven't.
Your primary care doctor is supposed to receive your discharge summary within days of your hospital discharge. This rarely happens automatically. Studies show that primary care doctors receive discharge summaries for only 12-34% of their patients' hospitalizations at the time of the first post-discharge visit. This communication failure creates dangerous gaps in care continuity.
The Scope of the Communication Failure
Summary Not Sent
25-50% of primary care doctors do not receive discharge summaries for their hospitalized patients.
Sources: Multiple studies in JAMA, Archives of Internal Medicine
Summary Arrives Too Late
Even when summaries are sent, 66-88% arrive after the first post-discharge visit, when they are most needed.
PCP cannot provide informed follow-up care without knowing what happened in the hospital
PCP Not Aware of Hospitalization
30-40% of PCPs are unaware their patient was hospitalized at all.
Patient may have gone to different hospital system; no notification sent
Wrong Doctor Receives Summary
Summary sent to wrong PCP due to outdated information in hospital system.
Patient changed PCPs but hospital record not updated
Why PCP Receipt of Discharge Summary Matters
Medication Reconciliation Impossible
Without the discharge summary medication list, your PCP cannot reconcile your home medications with changes made in the hospital. Medication errors propagate uncorrected.
Example: Hospital started new blood pressure medication. PCP unaware, continues old medication. Patient takes both, blood pressure drops dangerously low.
Follow-Up Care Uninformed
PCP sees patient for post-discharge follow-up but lacks critical context about hospital course, procedures performed, new diagnoses, and recommended follow-up.
Example: Patient hospitalized for heart failure, started on new medications, needs close monitoring. PCP unaware, treats as routine visit, does not order needed labs or adjust medications.
Critical Test Results Lost
Hospital finds abnormal test results requiring follow-up. Discharge summary specifies follow-up needed. PCP never receives summary, follow-up never happens.
Example: Hospital chest X-ray shows lung nodule requiring CT scan follow-up. PCP unaware for months. Delayed cancer diagnosis.
Readmissions Increase
Studies show lack of discharge summary availability at first PCP visit is associated with 25% higher readmission rates.
Patients readmitted for preventable complications that proper PCP follow-up could have avoided.
Why Discharge Summaries Do Not Reach PCPs
Different EHR Systems
Hospital and PCP use different electronic health record systems that do not communicate. No automatic transmission of discharge summary.
No PCP Listed in Hospital Record
Patient admitted through ED, no PCP name obtained. Hospital has no one to send summary to.
Outdated PCP Information
Hospital record has old PCP information. Summary sent to doctor patient no longer sees.
Summary Delayed
Discharge summary not completed for weeks after discharge. By the time it is sent, PCP has already seen patient without it. Learn more about delayed summaries.
Fax Failures
Hospital attempts to fax summary to PCP office. Fax fails, no one notices or follows up. Summary lost in the void.
Nobody Responsible
No one at hospital is specifically accountable for ensuring PCP receives summary. Falls through the cracks as a system problem without clear ownership.
How to Verify Your PCP Received Your Discharge Summary
Step-by-Step Verification Process
- 1.Call Your PCP Office Within 48 Hours: Do not wait. Call your primary care doctor's office within 48 hours of hospital discharge.
- 2.Ask Two Specific Questions:
- • "Has Dr. [Name] received my discharge summary from [Hospital Name] for my admission on [Date]?"
- • "If not, when should I call back to check again?"
- 3.If Not Received, Take Action: If PCP has not received summary after 5 days, do not wait longer. Send it yourself.
- 4.Obtain Your Own Copy: Get discharge summary from hospital via patient portal or HIM department. Learn more about how to get your summary.
- 5.Send to Your PCP: Email, fax, or hand-deliver your discharge summary to your PCP office. Do not assume someone else will do this.
- 6.Confirm Receipt: Call PCP office to confirm they received the summary you sent and it is in your medical record.
- 7.Schedule Follow-Up Visit: If not already scheduled, request post-discharge follow-up appointment within 5-7 days.
What to Bring to Your Post-Discharge PCP Visit
- •Discharge Summary: Complete clinical discharge summary (not just discharge instructions)
- •Discharge Instructions: Patient-friendly instructions given at discharge
- •All Medication Bottles: Bring ALL your medication bottles, both old and new prescriptions
- •List of Questions: Write down questions about medications, symptoms, follow-up tests
- •Symptom Log: Notes about any new or worsening symptoms since discharge
- •Contact Information: Names and phone numbers of hospital doctors and specialists for PCP to consult if needed
What Hospitals Should Do (But Often Don't)
Verify PCP Contact Information
Every hospital admission should confirm current PCP name, office address, fax number, and preferred communication method.
Electronic Health Information Exchange
Hospitals should participate in health information exchanges that automatically transmit discharge summaries to PCPs.
Direct Notification
Hospital should directly notify PCP of patient admission and discharge via phone, secure email, or fax within 24 hours.
Patient as Communication Bridge
Give patient a copy of discharge summary at discharge to hand-deliver to their PCP. This is the most reliable method.