Minnesota hospital to patient: Don’t come back, please

[Star Tribune, February 01, 2014] David Norlund went home with nine separate medications when he left the hospital after treatment for pulmonary disease last month.

With so much to keep track of, it’s no wonder that roughly one in five older patients winds up back in the hospital within a month of being discharged — a number that is costly for the health care system and hard on the patients.

Allina Health, which has 11 hospitals in the campaign, revamped its discharge instructions to reduce medical jargon and ensure that patients could get clear information once they got home, said Karen Tomes, an Allina vice president.

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