[Beyond Empty Words: What a Good Discharge Letter Should Include - and What to Leave Out]

The hospital discharge letter is the key communication tool between inpatient and outpatient care providers, ensuring the complete, structured, and comprehensible transfer of information necessary for seamless follow-up care. High-quality discharge letters maintain treatment continuity, reduce misunderstandings, prevent avoidable complications and readmissions, and serve as a critical interface document in healthcare. However, significant deficits in content, structure, and timeliness remain common due to insufficient training and the absence of binding standards.This article outlines the essential elements of an effective discharge letter: correct and complete addressee and patient data, a clinically relevant and complete list of diagnoses, a concise and interpretive summary (epicrisis) that answers the referring physician's key questions, concrete and feasible follow-up recommendations, a fully detailed and justified medication list, and - where appropriate - supplementary diagnostic documentation. Clarity, brevity, and usability take precedence over length and formality; unnecessary content such as marketing elements or redundant patient data should be avoided.Practical measures to improve quality include structured templates, targeted training with feedback, completeness checklists, and peer review. Evidence shows that optimizing discharge communication can reduce readmission rates by up to 30% and improve therapy adherence. In the digital era, the discharge letter remains a core instrument of patient safety and professional medical communication, reflecting the quality and patient-centredness of the treating team.