BackgroundPatient education facilitates imparting information to the patients and their caregivers by the health professionals and others that alter the patients’ health behaviors, improve their health status and upright health safety at home. It strengthens the clinician-patient relationship by demonstrating respect and enhances patients’ feelings of self-efficacy resulting in improved health, well-being, safety, and outcomes. It plays a vital role to prevent deadly but easily manageable fatalities that have been occurring at home in patients with various medical devices for permanent disabilities. In this commentary, the obligation of pre-discharge patient education and ensuring standard care at home for the patients with a lifelong tracheostomy is emphasized in particular.Patients with irreversible airway compromise and bulbar paralysis due to various chronic, systemic and autoimmune diseases often have to continue with a lifelong tracheostomy. These patients require a cautious and meticulous home care of the tracheostomy tube and the stoma. A fatal incident that occurred recently and received in the emergency department is mentioned here. It happened due to the failure of a very simple management of tracheostomy complication at home. ConclusionMany centers and hospitals have their integrated pre-discharge patient education program and checklist. This is particularly mandatory and warrants due attention in regard of sending a patient home with a tracheostomy. A brief span hands-on training and comprehensive educational materials are to be ensured sincerely. It is vital to have/organize the support of relatives or a companion. At least one individual ought to learn how to help the patient in case of emergency. That person should join the patient when he/she gets guidelines in the hospital. Medical information and communication technology and digital modules should also be made easily accessible and user-friendly to the mass people. Then only, this kind of shattering occurrences can be reduced at home settings.
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