Reviewing the discharge of care protocol

This article covers the discharge of care protocol, including the purpose and the steps to discharge the patient in the Rula provider portal. 

Purpose

The purpose of this protocol is to provide:

• A seamless transition and follow-up care for patients of Rula Psychiatric services.
• Guidance on documentation, patient communication, and clinic support services for patients who are not a good fit for our services.

Discharge of care process

Step 1: Discussion of discharge plan

• Patients should be made aware of any plans for discharge/withdrawal of care by their psychiatric provider.
  • Be sure to document any discussion of termination of care within patient’s chart.
• If a referral to a Higher Level of Care (HLOC), such as Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) or Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP), is part of the discharge plan, please ensure step 3 is completed.

Step 2: Documentation - Discharge from care completed

• Complete a Discharge Note in the Rula provider portal.
  • There will be a section for “patient-facing reason for discharge", where you can include the reason for the discharge that may be visible to the patient.

Step 3 (optional): Refer to HLOC if needed

• If you are referring a patient to IOP or PHP as part of your discharge plan, please ensure step 1 and step 2 are completed before proceeding.
  • Note: This step does not need to be completed if only in-person services are part of the discharge plan.
• Submit a HLOC request using the Provider Referral Form.
  • Be sure to include a detailed clinical rationale on why the patient is being referred to this level of care. Consider the following:
    • If the patient is currently linked to a therapist:
      • Why can't their needs be met at this level of care?
      • Is the patient aware that they will likely need to stop seeing their therapist for the duration of the IOP/PHP?
    • Some IOP/PHP programs do not provide medication management services and a patient may need to establish care with a new prescriber.
    • In-person IOP/ PHP can be difficult to locate—if so:
      • Can the patient be seen in a telehealth program?

Updated September 25, 2026 19:07