US · guidance
CMS SOM App. A, Tag A-0801
§482.43(a)(4) Standard: Discharge Planning Process
(4) Upon the request of a patient’s physician, the hospital must arrange for the
development and initial implementation of a discharge plan for the patient.
Interpretive Guidelines §482.43(a)(4)
Hospitals must evaluate a patient’s discharge planning needs and develop and initially
implement a discharge plan upon request of the patient’s physician, regardless of whether the
patient meets the hospital’s screening criteria for an evaluation.
Survey Procedures §482.43(a)(4)
• Review medical records to determine if the discharge plan has been developed and
implemented when requested by a physician.
• Review hospital policy for how the hospital will develop and implement a discharge plan
when a patient does not meet the screening criteria for evaluation but is otherwise
requested by a physician.
History
Rev. 238; Issued: 03-20-26; Effective: 09-05-25; Implantation: 09-05-25
Provenance
- Source
- cms.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-07-22
- Edition
- som-2026-07-22
- Content hash
b7d03603ac8439e8b92f4800184f08d3cd02fd6ce383aba4f29adf636492b50c
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