First, follow-up care generally keeps patients healthier and drives positive care outcomes. Second, early follow-up care can help reduce hospital readmissions. Regular post-discharge check-ins help catch complications early and mitigate growing issues, thus keeping patients out of the hospital.

Why does my doctor want a follow-up?

Monitoring Chronic Illness

With chronic illness, follow-ups are often necessary to monitor the illness or see if a treatment is working. Follow-up labs can tell you whether your strategies are working. ... It's also an opportunity to discuss starting treatment.

What does follow-up appointment mean?

Explore 'follow-up' in the dictionary. variable noun [oft NOUN noun] A follow-up is something that is done to continue or add to something done previously.