Articles · Hospital discharge

Leaving the hospital? Home health should be waiting when you get there.

The gap between a hospital bed and the first home visit is where recoveries go wrong. With a White Card or an accepted OWCP claim, that gap is avoidable — if the referral moves before you do.

For families: three moves before discharge day.

  1. Tell the discharge planner about the card. Your White Card or OWCP claim changes what is possible at home — and who pays. Make sure it is in the plan, not discovered after.
  2. Name the agency. You choose your provider — not the hospital, not the program. Ask the planner to send the referral to the agency you pick.
  3. Get the physician order moving. Home health starts with the physician’s order and the DOL’s authorization; the sooner the referral is sent, the sooner both exist. Our referral page →

For discharge planners.

Send us the patient, the program, and the order status. We confirm receipt within one business hour, contact the patient within four, verify the benefit and authorization, and typically start care within 48 to 72 hours of authorization. For complex cases our clinical director consults before referral: (702) 814-9630.

A readmission usually starts as a small, unwatched thing in the first two weeks home. The point of getting home health in place before discharge is that nothing goes unwatched.

Common questions.

The hospital suggested their preferred agency. Do I have to use it?

No. Provider choice is yours under these programs. You can name any enrolled agency.

What if the authorization is not ready at discharge?

We verify and manage the authorization — that work is ours — and coordinate timing with the discharge planner so care is not the thing waiting.

Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, DEEOIC. Timing figures are Alara service standards.

Discharge coming up?

Send the referral now and the assessment, the order, and the authorization move while the hospital finishes its part.

Alara helps you understand and reach benefits you may already be entitled to. It does not replace the Department of Labor, your Resource Center, your physician, or any federal agency. Nothing here is legal advice or a coverage or eligibility determination.