Care process
Care plan
A care plan is a written plan that lists a person's needs, goals, tasks, schedule and who does what. It covers daily help, safety steps and contacts. It changes as needs change. Families, caregivers and doctors can all use it.
Why it matters for your family
A care plan keeps everyone doing the same thing. The National Institute on Aging says care managers form a care plan and find services. Medicare also ties home health benefits to a plan of care set by a doctor, which is a different, medical document. A non-medical home care plan lists tasks such as meals, bathing help, medicine reminders and outings. A common mistake is to write it once and file it. Review it after a fall, a hospital stay or a change in memory. Keep a copy in the home so every caregiver can read it. Medication reminders are not medication administration.
Source: nia.nih.gov
Read more: What is Home Care? How to Benefit from These Services?
Related terms
- Care assessmentA care assessment is a review of a person's health, abilities, home and support to decide what help they need.
- Care plan reviewA care plan review is a scheduled check of whether a care plan still fits a person's needs.
- Care teamA care team is the group of people who work together to support a person.
- Daily care notesDaily care notes are short written updates a caregiver leaves after each shift.
- Care coordinationCare coordination is the work of organizing a person's care across doctors, caregivers, services and family so the pieces fit together.
- Change in conditionA change in condition is a new or worsening sign in a person's health, behavior or abilities.
