Home Discharge Guidance for Suspect or Confirmed COVID-19 Patients

Last update: March 23, 2020

The decision to send the patient home should be made in consultation with the patient’s clinical care team and the infection prevention/infectious diseases panel. We recommend using the following criteria for discharge:

• Resolution of fever for at least 24 hours without use of antipyretic medication
• Significant improvement in illness signs and symptoms, including no oxygen supplementation requirement, or back to stable chronic oxygen supplementation requirement, and requiring minimal supportive care
• Consider patient’s ability to adhere to home isolation recommendations and potential risk of secondary transmission to household members with immunocompromising conditions or who are healthcare workers
• Ensure that patient is able to manage ADL/iADLs independently or has enough available support at home
• Recommend that patient has enough support to receive 2 weeks of food and other necessary supplies (including all required medications) while isolated at home
• Print and review CDC recommendations on “Implementing Home Care of People Not Requiring Hospitalization for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)”
• Print and review CDC recommendations for caregiver(s) on “Preventing the Spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Homes and Residential Communities”
• Provide 1 surgical facemask (yellow) and a paper bag (for storage when not used) to patients who are discharging home to wear when they are around other people
• Home isolation may be discontinued once the following conditions are met (per CDC guidance):
  • At least 3 days (72 hours) have passed since recovery defined as resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and improvement in respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath); and,
  • At least 7 days have passed since symptoms first appeared.

*Note: Discharge guidance is based upon limited information and is subject to change as more information becomes available.

Disclaimer

These documents and content on this website are guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because new information is released rapidly, these documents can be updated or changed at any time. These documents are in no way to be considered as a standard of care and the content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The information in these documents is provided with no guarantees, accuracy, or timeliness. All content in these documents and website are for informational purposes only and do not constitute the providing of medical advice.