Drug compliance not so bad, knowledge not so good--the elderly after hospital discharge.

Thirty-five consecutive discharges from three admission wards were seen in hospital shortly before discharge and followed up 3-12 days after returning home. Various aspects of after-care were assessed, particularly in relation to drug compliance and understanding of treatment. Of the 30 on regular medication, 92% of those visited at home achieved over 95% compliance, despite the fact that most did not understand the purpose of their drug therapy. Much additional information was discovered, including the fact that many family doctors visited patients fairly soon when informed of discharge by telephone instead of by the normal posted discharge summary.