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More and more inpatient care is being shifted to the outpatient environment, and patients are increasingly being asked to assume more responsibility for their own care. Patients’ ability to adhere to complex emergency department discharge instructions is directly related to how well they understand the instructions. In a prospective study conducted at two EDs in Michigan, researchers interviewed 140 patients immediately after ED discharge to assess their understanding of four categories of ED care: diagnosis and cause of symptoms, ED care received (tests and treatments), post-ED care (prescriptions, ancillary measures, follow-up), and symptoms that should prompt returning to the ED. Patients were allowed to look at their discharge instructi…