Coach could be key in helping stroke patients with their medications and recovery after discharge

When a stroke patient is discharged from the hospital, they often must cope with a new disability or lack of function, so changes in their medications or a new dosing prescription can be particularly confusing. This can lead the patient to overmedicate, take the wrong medication or skip medications entirely and can result in being readmitted to the hospital.
But a pilot study that is looking at a new discharge strategy and being led by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, indicates that phone calls and conversations with a ‘stroke coach’ seem to keep a patient on the road to recovery.
Cheryl D. Bushnell, M.D., associate professor of neurology and director of Wake Forest Baptist