Patient communication
What should patients leave with when physical therapy ends?
Direct answer
At a planned physical therapy discharge, agree on the home exercise plan, the next step, and whom the patient should contact with questions. Make any unfinished arrangement clear. A final exercise sheet explains what to do. It does not, by itself, explain what happens after clinic visits end.
The last visit has two different jobs
Consider this hypothetical final visit.
A patient can explain the home routine and show the exercises. Their physical therapist has decided that the current course of visits can end. The patient gets a dated exercise sheet.
At the door, they ask who to call if the plan becomes difficult to follow. They also thought another service would contact them. The therapist meant that a referral would be discussed, not that an appointment was booked.
The exercise instructions may be clear. The next step is not.
The therapist does not need to invent a new exercise plan to resolve that confusion. They need to say what has been agreed, what remains open, and who will handle it.
This example illustrates a communication gap. It is not a patient report or evidence that a handoff form improves outcomes.
What the guidance supports
The American Physical Therapy Association's ChoosePT guide describes discharge as something the patient and physical therapist plan together. It also tells patients to discuss questions after discharge and what to do if symptoms or their condition worsen.
That supports a broader conversation than handing over the last home exercise program, or HEP.
The United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence makes a similar communication point. Its shared decision-making guidance, published in 2021, recommends making decisions, next steps, timescales, and review arrangements clear.
Recommendations 1.2.14 through 1.2.19 also address written records of decisions and contacts for further questions. This is general UK healthcare guidance, not a US physical therapy discharge rule.
Neither source tests the handoff card below. Neither establishes a universal exercise dose, a required follow-up interval, or a promise that better instructions prevent setbacks.
Use those limits when explaining the card to your team. It is a practical communication aid, not a validated discharge tool.
Separate the home plan from the next-contact plan
Our recommendation is to make two decisions visible at the final visit.
First, confirm which home instructions the patient should follow. The treating clinician decides the exercises, frequency, precautions, and any progression instructions. This article does not supply those decisions.
Second, agree on what happens after the visit. An exercise link remaining available is not the same as a clinician continuing to review activity.
Ask your team to distinguish these arrangements:
| Agreed arrangement | What the patient needs to hear | What not to imply |
|---|---|---|
| No follow-up visit is currently scheduled | The agreed home plan and the route for later questions | Someone will notice every difficulty without being contacted |
| A review is planned | Who will arrange it, when it is planned, and what remains unbooked | An intended review is already a confirmed appointment |
| Care is moving to another clinician or service | The next action, who owns it, and whether the arrangement is confirmed or pending | Sending information means the receiving service has accepted the patient |
These are communication categories, not discharge criteria. They do not decide whether a patient needs further skilled care.
If your clinic cannot yet answer one of these questions, label it as pending. Name the person who will resolve it. Do not make the printed plan sound more settled than the actual arrangement.
A handoff card with one unfinished step
Here is a fictional handoff after a final visit on October 13. The transfer is still pending when the patient leaves.
| Field | Example entry |
|---|---|
| Home plan | Use the October 13 home plan reviewed together today, with the clinician's instructions and precautions. |
| Next visit | No visit is currently booked. |
| Transfer status | We sent the referral today. The receiving clinic has not confirmed acceptance or an appointment. |
| Coordination owner | Your current physical therapist will call the receiving clinic to check the referral status. |
| Next update | Your current therapist will phone you by 4 p.m. on October 15, even if the answer is still pending. |
| Questions afterward | Call our front desk using the clinic number printed on this sheet. Staff route routine questions to your current therapist. |
| Response expectation | Our front desk takes calls Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Your current therapist returns routine messages by the next business day. |
| If the update does not arrive | Call our front desk on October 16. Ask staff to flag the missing referral update for your current therapist. |
| Symptoms change | Follow the individual instructions discussed with your clinician, including when and where to seek help. |
The important distinction is between an intended action and a completed arrangement.
The dates and response times are invented for this example. They are not a recommended deadline or a promise about HepBuddy.
Do not copy this example into a patient's record unchanged. Fill in the actual plan, contact details, response expectations, and any unresolved action.
Notice what the fictional therapist promised: an update, not acceptance by another clinic. Use commitments your team can meet without pretending to control another service.
The contact route also needs a clear boundary. Tell the patient if messages are reviewed only during stated hours. Routine clinic messages should not be presented as an emergency service.
Test the handoff from the patient's side
Before the visit ends, ask the patient to explain two things: the plan they will follow and what they will do with a later question.
A possible prompt is:
"I want to check that I explained this clearly. Which plan will you use at home, and who will you contact if something is unclear?"
If the answer differs from the agreed plan, clarify the instructions. Our home exercise teach-back guide covers that conversation in more detail.
Then check the contact route yourself. Is the phone number or message destination on the take-home information? Does the named staff member actually handle those questions?
This is a check on your clinic's handoff, not a test the patient must pass.
Keep the promise smaller than the software
HepBuddy delivers home exercise routines through the web. You can read the product overview to see how it works.
That does not replace a clinician-agreed discharge plan or establish ongoing follow-up after visits end.
For a planned discharge, the useful finish is concrete: the patient knows which plan continues, what happens next, and whom to contact. Anything still unresolved is named, not hidden behind a final exercise sheet.