Discharge day is busy. Bags are packed, a taxi is waiting, a nurse hands over a folder, and someone says "everything is in there". Then, at home, a family member opens it and finds four pages of abbreviations. The discharge summary is the most important document you bring home — and ten quiet minutes with it, before you leave the hospital, can prevent real problems.
What a discharge summary is for
A discharge summary is the hospital's letter to everyone who will care for you next: your doctor at home, a pharmacist, an emergency team if you ever need one. It explains why you were admitted, what was found, what was done, how you were when you left, which medicines to take, and what should happen next.
For international patients it does even more work. It is often the only document your local doctor will read before seeing you, so it has to be complete, readable and in a language they understand.
It is also a record you may need years from now. A future surgeon, a scan technician checking whether an implant is safe in an MRI machine, or an insurer asking about past treatment may all want to see it. Treat it like a passport: keep the original safe and carry copies.
Reading it section by section
India's hospital accreditation body, NABH, publishes a model discharge summary format. Most hospitals use something similar. Here is what each part should tell you:
- Patient details: your name, age, hospital number, and the dates of admission and discharge. Check spelling against your passport.
- Reason for admission: in a sentence, why you came in.
- Diagnosis: the final diagnosis, in words, not just a code. Ask if it differs from what you were told before.
- Clinical summary: the key findings, test results and how you progressed.
- Treatment or procedure: exactly what was done, on which side, and the date. For surgery, ask for the separate operation note too.
- Condition at discharge: how you were when you left — walking, eating, wound, pain.
- Medicines at discharge: name, dose, how often and for how long.
- Follow-up: when and with whom, plus diet and activity advice.
- Warning signs: many hospitals add the symptoms that mean you should seek help urgently. If yours does not, ask for them in writing.
- Doctor's name, signature and contact: so your local doctor can reach the team.
Check the medicine list twice
The medicine list is where most errors hide. In a 2020 study of 933 patients aged 75 or over in ten Swedish hospitals, pharmacists found at least one medication discrepancy in the discharge summaries of 38% of patients. The commonest error was a medicine added by mistake; patients discharged from surgical departments were at higher risk.
| At least one discrepancy | 38% |
|---|---|
| No discrepancy found | 62% |
Caleres et al., Drugs – Real World Outcomes, 2020: 933 patients aged 75+ taking five or more medicines, ten hospitals in southern Sweden.
That study was in Sweden, not India, but the lesson travels: compare the list carefully. Before you leave, sit with a nurse or pharmacist and check:
- Every medicine you took before admission: continued, changed or stopped — and why?
- Every new medicine: what it is for and how long to take it.
- Generic names as well as brand names, because Indian brands may not exist in your country.
- Blood thinners, insulin and painkillers especially: exact doses and when to stop.
Indian prescriptions often use short forms. OD means once a day, BD twice a day, TDS three times a day, HS at bedtime and SOS only if needed. If anything is unclear, ask for it to be written out in full.
The rest of the folder
- Read the summaryTen quiet minutes before you leave; ask about anything unclear.
- Check the medicinesOld and new, with generic names and doses.
- Collect the extrasOperation note, test results, scan images, pathology report, implant sticker.
- Confirm follow-upDates, video calls, who to contact and how.
- Make copiesOne printed set to carry, one digital copy, one for your doctor at home.
Ask for scan images, not only reports, on a disc or download link. For joint replacements, spinal surgery and heart procedures, keep the implant or stent details safe: you may need them for future scans or operations. If your stay was long, ask for a copy of the full case file as well; Indian regulations say doctors should provide copies within 72 hours of a request, so ask a few days before discharge.
Taking it home
Book an appointment with your doctor at home soon after you land, and send them the summary in advance. Carry a printed copy in your hand luggage on the flight, in case you need care on the way. And keep the warning-signs section where your family can see it.
Our care team checks every discharge folder with you before you leave India, and sets up your video follow-up calls. Read our recovery roadmap for the weeks after, and what families often forget. Need help reading a summary you already have? Book a consultation.
Independent research. Figures are quoted from the official and published sources listed below, as they stood when we checked them (October 2026). BookMedTrip is an independent facilitator and is not affiliated with any government body, hospital, charity or organisation named here, and receives no commission from them. If anything here is out of date or inaccurate, please write to care@bookmedtrip.com and we will correct it.
Questions
What should a discharge summary include?
Your details and dates, reason for admission, final diagnosis, clinical summary, treatment or procedure done, condition at discharge, medicines with doses, follow-up plan, warning signs, and the doctor's name and contact.
What do OD, BD and TDS mean on an Indian prescription?
OD is once a day, BD twice a day and TDS three times a day. HS means at bedtime and SOS means only if needed.
How do I get my full medical records from an Indian hospital?
Ask in writing, ideally a few days before discharge. Under the Indian Medical Council regulations, copies should be supplied within 72 hours of a request.
Sources
- NABH — Hospital discharge summary format (2025)
- Caleres et al. — Medication discrepancies in discharge summaries for elderly patients, Drugs – Real World Outcomes (March 2020)
- IMA — Indian Medical Council Regulations 2002, Regulation 1.3 on medical records
- CDC Yellow Book — Medical tourism (updated 2025)
