eligible providers and hospitals Eligible hospitals must meet certain required objectives each year to receive a financial incentive and avoid a payment adjustment Well-designed discharge instructions with the information discussed below help hospitals reach the threshold for the incentive by fulfilling several objectives, including maintaining an active and updated medication list and providing discharged patients an electronic copy of their discharge instructions Legal Considerations Discharge instructions that are well designed highlight when a patient should return for care, review potential complications associated with the patient’s diagnosis, and give clear instructions for treatments These instructions can also serve as an important protection for the emergency medicine practitioner, providing documentation that may be important when an adverse event occurs or a complaint is raised A copy of the instructions provided to the patient should be maintained in the medical record GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF DISCHARGE INSTRUCTIONS Organization Instructions should be organized without a large amount of extra material that can distract from the critical information, and should be written in clear, short sentences rather than paragraphs A simplified form leads to increased patient satisfaction Information should be presented with the most important items first Separate headers with diagnosis-specific instructions enhance patient recall and understanding (Table 133.1 ) DISCHARGE INSTRUCTION FORMATS The content of discharge instructions and the process by which that content is relayed to its intended audience varies widely from facility to facility The format of the instructions can be verbal and/or written or may include multimedia technology Pictures or diagrams and other visual aids may be added Different formats have inherent strengths and weaknesses Verbal Instructions