In this series, we’re discussing how your healthcare organization (HCO) can understand and address the needs of caregivers who are caring for your patients and members, as well as why it makes sense from a business perspective for you to do so. When caregivers of patients/members within your organization feel seen and supported, it leads to:
- More satisfied patients/members
- More conversions by showing your HCO’s value proposition
- Healthier patients/members by helping your patients/members adhere to their care plans
Here’s what we’ve covered and will cover in this series:
- Part 1 discussed the guided journey you can offer for caregivers
- Part 2 discussed how you can connect caregivers to support systems and services
- Part 3 discussed the logistics of caregiving
- This article, Part 4, will discuss caregiver types and the various permissions needed for each
- Part 5 will discuss the importance of open and quick communication among HCOs, patients/members and caregivers
Identity crisis: Challenges inherent in the ‘caregiver’ term
We can all agree that caregiving is an essential function in modern society. But there often are difficulties in people’s understanding of who actually is a caregiver.
For example, some family members or loved ones don’t like to think of themselves as a caregiver. They think that’s solely the role of a professional — a nurse, a certified nursing assistant (CNA), a home health aide (HHA) or another medical worker — who is in the home, providing medications, taking vital signs, providing meal/bath assistance, taking the patient/member to appointments, etc. These loved ones think “caregiver” is a medical term, and they’re helping the patient/member out of love or duty, so the term shouldn’t apply to them.
I can relate to those feelings. I initially felt uncomfortable thinking of myself as a caregiver when I stepped into the role for my aging father. I don’t live close by him, and I wasn’t the one actually providing his care. What right did I have to call myself a caregiver?
But I had to come to terms with the idea that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to caregiving and no neat, tidy way of subdividing its different forms. All of us in this community are focused on helping others who are sick or aging. And all of us need support from the HCOs who provide care for their patients/members.
However, those varying, sometimes-nebulous definitions of “caregiving” mean your HCO needs to offer different access rights and permissions to the digital experiences of your patients/members based on which type of caregiver persona needs to access information at a given time. (And bonus points to you if your organization has included both types of caregivers in your persona and journey mapping efforts!)
Persona 1: The professional caregiver
This is the skilled worker whom the family caregiver (more on them below) hires to care for the patient/member. They’re in the home with the patient/member on a regular basis, whether daily, weekly or some other cadence.
This person needs to be able to access the patient/member’s digital tools for several vital caregiving activities, including:
- Logging prescription adherence
- Helping and logging exercises and activities (walking, chair exercises, etc.)
- Monitoring vital signs, such as heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, etc., as well as trends over time
- Observing and monitoring mental health state well-being
These are critical data points for everyone involved in the care of a patient/member. Not only does the care team likely need these regular updates to adjust care plans as needed, but the family caregiver needs them to be informed about their loved one’s status and make the best decisions possible about their care.
However, simply granting the same levels of permissions as a family caregiver/healthcare proxy isn’t reasonable for a professional caregiver. There’s no reason for this individual to have access to insurance information, payment details or even support systems. These details are unnecessary at best and can expose your patient/member or family caregiver to the risk of identity theft or worse.
Persona 2: The family caregiver
The family caregiver serves as the patient/member’s primary support person. They may even be making all medical decisions for the patient/member if a healthcare proxy is in place.
If a professional caregiver is involved in the patient/member’s care, the family caregiver likely doesn’t need access to the day-to-day activities of logging vital signs, prescription adherence and so on. They’re probably not in the patient/member’s home managing these activities. And too many updates could serve as a source of stress due to information overload (especially given that caregivers are under considerable stress already).
However, family caregivers do need access to essential information relating to their loved ones’ ongoing care, including:
- Proper management of the aforementioned healthcare proxy
- Health insurance information, including coverages, deductibles, etc.
- Access to the patient/member’s electronic health record (EHR)
- Location tracker for the patient/member
- Dynamically generated information on where to find more or related care based on the location of the patient/member, not necessarily the family caregiver
- Summary of vital signs and/or trends over time
- Calendar of family coverage (e.g., who’s taking Dad to this appointment on Tuesday?)
- Access to your HCO’s own community of caregivers and/or available support options
The right access to the right kind of caregiver
Caregiving is a spectrum. Your HCO is likely to interact with many people on varying points of that spectrum. Understanding what that looks like for your patients or members, as well as the loved ones and allied professionals involved in their care, can help you provide the best possible experience for everyone. We can help you strategize about maximizing the caregiver experience through our caregiver enablement approach. To schedule an introductory workshop or learn more, contact us.
And don’t miss Part 5 of this series. We’ll discuss why it’s vital for HCOs, patients/members and caregivers to have easy and open lines of communication, particularly when the patient/member needs a new facility or type of care. See you then!
