My elderly family member was released from the hospital today and we were faced with having to choose the hospital recommended rehab very quickly. After getting there, we realized it might not have been the best choice. Can we transfer him to another rehab within his insurance plan, and is the current rehab obligated to turn over all records on medications etc? Thank you.
https://www.agingcare.com/questions/mom-broke-her-hip-how-do-we-find-a-good-snf-for-her-recovery-438395.htm
Ask the doctor who acted as the attending doctor, if the script for rehab wasn't signed by one of your regular treating doctors. Indicate that the facility doesn't meet standards and you need to change. This was advice given to us when we needed to switch rehab facilities. The NP who offered this advice said the letter from the doctor confirming the need to change facilities would be helpful if Medicare challenged the move. Armed with the letter, away we went, and Medicare never even asked about the move.
I don't know if the current rehab facility is obligated to transfer records. In our case, that was one of the reasons we moved - the lousy facility lost the chart!
Do you have a copy of the discharge instructions? If the hospital won't provide another copy, make one for the new facility. The treating doctor there will probably want to his her/his own assessment anyway.
And FYI, hospital discharge planners are I believe guided by factors not particularly public. Their recommendations change, and I noticed that after the hospital became a profit vs. a nonprofit hospital, the lists grew smaller and focused on a few rehab companies.
It pays to do your own searches, your own inspections, and establish your own list of potential rehab facilities.