Discharge instructions

Most patients will have their discharge orders signed the morning they are leaving the hospital. Only parents/legal guardians or other authorized persons may take a child home. Most patients are able to leave the hospital by 11 am. Your child’s nurse will go over all necessary instructions with you before discharge, including information about medications, follow-up appointments and at-home care. Please do not hesitate to ask any questions you might have about your child’s at-home or follow-up care.

As of January 2012, all children younger than 8 years old, or under 4 feet 9 inches, must be secured in a car seat or booster. Please bring an age-appropriate car seat to the hospital on the day of discharge.

Prescriptions: UCLA Outpatient Pharmacy

You have the option of filling your child’s prescription(s) at the UCLA Outpatient Pharmacy or at a pharmacy of your choice. If you choose to have your child’s prescriptions filled at the UCLA Outpatient Pharmacy, your child’s physician may send his or her prescriptions electronically to the pharmacy to be filled, or you may ask a family member or other person you designate to take the prescription(s) to the Outpatient Pharmacy before the patient is discharged. A pharmacist may deliver your child’s prescriptions to your room or the medications may be picked up during regular business hours from the Outpatient Pharmacy before you leave the hospital. A pharmacist will always review the medications with you, your child or his or her designee and answer any relevant questions.

The UCLA Outpatient Pharmacy is located on Level B, Room B140, of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Pharmacy hours are Monday to Friday, 8 am to 9 pm; Saturday 8 am to 7 pm; and Sunday and holidays 8 am to 5 pm. To reach the pharmacy, please call (310) 206-3784.

Billing

After your child leaves the hospital, you will receive several bills for services provided during his or her hospital stay. You will receive a hospital bill, which will include room charges, food, medical supplies and any tests and procedures that your child may have had. You will also receive bills from your child’s doctors for his or her medical and surgical care.

Our Patient Business Services Department will file your claim directly with your primary and secondary insurance carriers. Please note that you are ultimately responsible for the charges incurred during your child’s stay in the hospital. If you have not received notice of payment from your insurer within 60 days after service, we may seek your assistance in contacting the insurance carrier directly to encourage prompt payment.

For questions about your child’s hospital bill, please call (310) 825-8021. For questions about your child’s physician bill, please call (310) 301-5200.
For more information on billing, visit uclahealth.org/billing. To pay your bill online, visit my.uclahealth.org.

Medical records and release of information

For questions about your child’s medical records, please call (310) 825-6021. To reach the Release of Information Customer Service Office, open Monday to Friday from 8 am to 4:30 pm, please call (310) 825-6021. The office is located at 100 UCLA Medical Plaza, Suite 140, Los Angeles, CA 90095, and walk-in services are available. To fax the office, dial (310) 983-1468.