Tips for Staying Organized for In-Home Care Providers

In- home care providers work in an environment that can be stressful and chaotic. To ensure proper, effective, accurate and efficient care for your patient, it is important to create a system that will help you stay organized and on top of the situation. Here are some tips to get you started:

Maintain a Schedule

Many patients are cared for by two or more in home care providers. To ensure proper transition of duties, create a "master" schedule that all caregivers can use. This schedule will list all important tasks and information regarding the patient's care, including time, type and dosage of medications, medical checkups and appointments, room and house cleanup, garbage pickup, garden and lawn work, and other things that need to be done on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

List Relevant Information

Write down all important information regarding the patient's medical, financial and legal care to make it easy to get in touch with the right people when necessary. It is also a good idea to list the contact numbers and addresses of the patient's family members, doctors, neighbors and other persons who could be called in case of an emergency. Make a list of people who provide services to your patient as well, such as community organizations, churches, and repair and service personnel.

Keep Photocopies of the Patient's Medical Information

Any document or information regarding the patient's medical and health history should be easy to access for reference purposes. Make copies of these documents and related information, such as medications and refill schedules, medical and laboratory test results and diagnoses, healthcare provider name and contact number, and the like. With these documents on hand, errors in patient care and maintenance can be avoided.

Record All Calls

List all calls received by and on behalf of the patient including the time, date, reason and information about the caller. Patients often receive calls from their doctors, family members and healthcare providers, each of whom may provide vital information regarding the patient's care. You can use this log as a reference to understand your patient's activities, medical history, contacts and other information.

Create an Efficient Filing System

Chances are, your patient will receive and accumulate paperwork over the course of his or her care. These documents may seem like a nuisance initially but they actually provide critical information about your patient that you will find useful when performing at home care services. To avoid document loss or mix ups, create a simple filing system that will allow you and other parties to easily identify and locate documents when you need them.