Discharge Orders

CelticGoddess, BSN, RN · Sep 24, 2015

Hello,
In your experience, does a doctor need to specify in a discharge order whether to remove an IV line or telemetry? I always removed it unless specified otherwise, and have only discharged a patient once with an IV line in on purpose due to the patient receiving a home health infusion later that day. It was specified in the order to leave it in.
Are there any articles referencing this practice? Are there any legal implications if the doctor did not put "remove IV line/telemetry" in the discharge order?
TIA

The policy at my facility is to remove any peripheral IV at discharge. We are also to dc ports. However, PICC lines we need an order to dc or to keep. If the MD doesn't give us an order, we have to call.

I no longer work tele (thank god) so I don't know what the facilities policy is on that.

Check out your facilities P&P for dc'ng lines.

nynursey_ · Sep 24, 2015

I suppose it depends where you're discharging this patient from and where they're being discharged to.

For example, I work in acute care (hospital inpatient). When I receive a discharge order, the physician must clarify where the patient is being discharged to (facility, home, morgue ... ). If the patient is being discharged to home and it's a simple discharge, all invasive lines (IVs, Foley catheter, drains) are D/C'd at discharge unless otherwise specified by the physician (an order to leave in said line). If a patient is going home with IV antibiotics and there has been a PICC placed, then all team members on board know the patient is to go home with the line, and usually it involves coordination with home nursing services, etc. As far as telemetry .. if a patient is to go home or to a facility, telemetry monitoring obviously must be D/C'd as the remote telemetry can't be read from a patient's home or facility.