Abstract: Discharge planning is the basis of continuous medical service. It could shorten the length of hospital stay, improve bed occupancy, reduce readmission rate, save medical costs, and improve the quality of life. It's considered to be important and supplemented by relevant policies and regulations to promote development in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and other developed countries. In China, even though Hong Kong and Taiwan have issued discharge planning policies, the mainland is still at the stage of exploration. Discharge planning in Chinese mainland has problems like restricted objectives, imperfect content, un-optimized process, unestablished professionals and organizations and so on. Standardized discharge planning guide still needs further research. As the health service system including hospitals, public health institutions and primary health institutions coverd urban and rural gradually, and the new pattern of grading diagnosis and treatment established, it's necessary to analyze the necessity, importance, obstacles and measures of discharge planning in China.

Key words: discharge planning, continuity of healthcare, rehabilitation