Caregiver Support

While caring for a loved one can be a rewarding role and a tremendous gift to those you care for, there are challenges that are real and that do not have to be taken on alone. As a family owned community pharmacy, we value the role you play and have resources available to help.

You are not alone, we can help lessen your burden through our Medicine Management Program or our vast network of referral services. Also, please review some of the helpful links below.

10 Tips for Family Caregivers
Tips for Family Caregivers from Doctors
Care Management Techniques You Can Use
Questions to Ask Your Healthcare Providers
How to Communicate with an Insurance Provider
Additional Resources

10 Tips for Family Caregivers

Caregiving is a job and respite is your earned right. Reward yourself with respite breaks often.
Watch out for signs of depression, and don’t delay in getting professional help when you need it.
When people offer to help, accept the offer and suggest specific things that they can do.
Educate yourself about your loved one’s condition and how to communicate effectively with doctors.
There’s a difference between caring and doing. Be open to technologies and ideas that promote your loved one’s independence.
Trust your instincts. Most of the time they’ll lead you in the right direction.
Caregivers often do a lot of lifting, pushing, and pulling. Be good to your back.
Grieve for your losses, and then allow yourself to dream new dreams.
Seek support from other caregivers. There is great strength in knowing you are not alone.
Stand up for your rights as a caregiver and a citizen.

Tips for Family Caregivers from Doctors

Write questions down so you won’t forget them
Be clear about what you want to say to the doctor. Try not to ramble.
If you have lots of things to talk about, make a consultation appointment, so the doctor can allow enough time to meet with you in an unhurried way.
Educate yourself about your loved one’s disease or disability. With all the information on the Internet it is easier than ever before.
Learn the routine at your doctor’s office and/or the hospital so you can make the system work for you, not against you.
Recognize that not all questions have answers—especially those beginning with “why.”
Separate your anger and sense of impotence about not being able to help your loved one as much as you would like from your feeling about the doctor. Remember, you are both on the same side.
Appreciate what the doctor is doing to help and say thank you from time to time.

Care Management Techniques You Can Use

Did you ever wish you could just pick up the phone and call someone who would take stock of your situation, help you access the right services, counsel you and your family to help resolve some of your differences, then monitor your progress with an eye toward channeling your energy and abilities as effectively as possible? If your answer is “yes,” you’re not alone. Having the help of a care coordinator (often called a care manager) could make all of our lives easier and less lonesome, and help us be more capable family caregivers. While most of us may not have access to a care coordinator, we can all learn how to think and act like one, thereby reaping numerous benefits for our loved ones and ourselves.

What Is Care Coordination?
Although every case is different, the care coordination approach usually involves:

Gathering information from healthcare providers;
An assessment of your care recipient and the home environment;
Research into available public and/or private services and resources to meet your loved one’s needs; and
Ongoing communication between all parties to keep information up-to-date and services appropriate and effective.

Unfortunately, an assessment of your abilities and needs is not necessarily a standard part of the process, but it should be. A complete view of the situation cannot be gained without one. An objective analysis of your health, emotional state, other commitments, etc., are key elements in determining how much you can and cannot do yourself, and what type of outside support is needed to ensure your loved one’s health and safety.

Become Your Own Care Coordinator By learning and applying at least some of the care coordination techniques and ideas that follow, you’ll be in a much better position to develop an organized course of action that will, hopefully, make you feel more confident and in control — a goal well worth working toward.

Educate yourself on the nature of the disease or disability with which you’re dealing. Reliable information is available from the health agency that deals with your loved one’s condition and the National Institutes of Health. When using the Internet, stick with well-known medical sites. Understanding what is happening to your care recipient will provide you with the core knowledge you need to go forward. It will also make you a better advocate when talking with healthcare professionals.

Write down your observations of the present situation including:

Your loved one’s ability to function independently, both physically and mentally.
The availability of family and/or friends to form a support network to share the care.
The physical environment: Is it accessible or can it be adapted at reasonable cost?
Your other responsibilities — at work, at home, and in the community.
Your own health and physical abilities.
Your financial resources, available insurance, and existence of healthcare or end-of-life documents.

This assessment will help you come to a realistic view of the situation. It will let you know the questions to which you need answers. It can be a handy baseline for charting your caregiving journey and reminding you just how much you’ve learned along the way.

Hold a family conference. At least everyone in the immediate family should be told what’s going on. A meeting can set the stage for divvying up responsibilities so that there are fewer misunderstandings down the road when lots of help may be needed. A member of the clergy, a professional care coordinator, or even a trusted friend can serve as an impartial moderator. A family meeting is a good way to let everyone know they can play a role, even if they are a thousand miles away. It can help you, the primary family caregiver, from bearing the brunt of all the work all of the time.

Keep good records of emergency numbers, doctors, daily medications, special diets, back-up people, and other pertinent information relating to your loved one’s care. Update as necessary. This record will be invaluable if something happens to you, or if you need to make a trip to the ER. If you can maintain a computer-based record, that will make updating all that much easier and it might even allow you to provide the medical team with direct access to the information.

Join a support group, or find another caregiver with whom to converse. In addition to emotional support, you’ll likely pick up practical tips as well. Professionals network with each other all the time to get emotional support and find answers to problems or situations they face. Why shouldn’t family caregivers?

Start advance planning for difficult decisions that may lie ahead. It’s never too early to discuss wills, advance directives, and powers of attorney, but there comes a time when it is too late. It is also vital that you and your loved one think through what to do if you should be incapacitated, or, worse, die first. It can happen.

Develop a care team to help out during emergencies, or over time if your situation is very difficult. In an ideal world there will be lots of people who want to help. More likely you’ll be able to find one or two people to call on in an emergency or to help with small chores. The critical thing is to be willing to tell others what you need and to accept their help.

Establish a family regimen. When things are difficult to begin with, keeping a straightforward daily routine can be a stabilizer, especially for people who find change upsetting and confusing.

Approach some of your hardest caregiving duties like a professional. It’s extraordinarily difficult to separate your family role from your caregiving role, to lock your emotions up in a box while you focus on practical chores and decisions. But it is not impossible to gain some distance some of the time. It requires an almost single-minded approach to getting the job at hand done as efficiently and effectively as possible. It takes practice, but is definitely worth the effort.

Questions to Ask Your Healthcare Providers

Review this list of questions as you are planning and preparing for any interaction with the health care system (e.g., doctor visit, trip to the emergency room, hospital discharge planning session, etc.) The questions are organized by category. Select the questions that best fit your needs. Feel free to add your own.

About Medical Care in General

What might have caused this illness?
What is this illness called?
Is this illness likely to go away on its own?
Is the pain likely to diminish or go away?
How do you want to treat this illness?
What are other ways to treat this illness?
What are the risks with these treatments?
What is the likely future of this illness with the recommended treatment?
Without the recommended treatment?
What is the time frame for the treatment?
Is a hospital stay necessary?
What is the expected recovery time?
What lifestyle changes can my care recipient expect in the future?

About Medical Tests and Procedures

Is the recommended test or procedure necessary to confirm or disprove a diagnosis?
Will the findings of the test change the way the disease is managed?
What are the risks involved?
What happens if my care recipient refuses to undergo this test?
How expensive is the test and will it be covered by insurance?
Will the test require a change in any of the medications my care recipient is taking?
What are the chances of inaccurate test results?
What is the test procedure?
How will the test feel? Will it be painful?
How should I help my care recipient prepare for this test?
Will my care recipient need help getting home afterward?
Who will interpret the test results?
Will someone call with the test results or should I phone for them?
Can test results be sent directly to me or my care recipient?

About How the Doctor’s Office Works

What days/hours is the office open?
How are medical emergencies handled?
When is the best time to reach the doctor by phone, fax or e-mail?
Which method of communication does the doctor prefer?
Who can answer questions if the doctor is not available?
Who can I call after hours or when the doctor is away?

Regarding the Costs of Medical Care

What private insurance plans do you accept?
Do you accept Medicaid/Medicare assignments?
What costs are covered by Medicaid/Medicare? Supplemental insurance?
What costs are not covered by insurance?
Approximately how much can I expect to pay in the long run for treatment?

Regarding Discharge Planning
As part of the discharge planning process, many issues related to the patient’s care need to be resolved. As soon as you know your loved one is going to be admitted to the hospital, find out who is in charge of the discharge process and arrange a meeting to gather specific answers to the following questions.

Where is the patient going to go after discharge? (Return to the previous setting? Go someplace else temporarily? Move permanently to a new location?)
Who will provide additional home health care if it is needed?
Does the patient need any home health equipment? What kind?
Do physical and/or occupational therapy visits need to be arranged?
What additional services may be needed and for how long (e.g., Meals-on-Wheels, hospice care, housekeeping, etc.)?
What paperwork needs to be processed to get these services lined up?
How will the added expenses be paid for?
What additional skills do you need to learn so you can care for your loved one properly?

How to Communicate with an Insurance Provider

Before you pick up the phone to speak to a claims representative, you need to gather some information. Be prepared to give the person you talk with:

Your name and your relationship to your care recipient
Your care recipient’s birth date
The insurance policy number
The name and address of the organization that sent the bill
The total amount of the bill
The diagnosis code on the bill
The Explanation of Benefits (if you are questioning an insurance payment)

When you start the conversation, ask for the name and telephone extension of the individual who is handling your phone call. If you need to call again, you will want to try to speak with the same person. Keep in mind that billing office personnel and insurance claims representatives are there to serve you. You are the customer. Be assertive. You should expect to:

Be treated with respect and consideration.
Have your concerns clarified.
Have your questions answered with accurate and timely information.
Be informed of any steps you need to take to move things along.

Communication Tips
Here are some tips for communicating effectively with people who work in the health insurance system.

Be Prepared. Before you call an insurance company, write down a list of the questions you have so you can handle everything in one phone call.
Take Good Notes. Take notes about your phone conversations, including the name of the insurance representative, the date of the call and the information you were given. For convenience, put this in your care recipient notebook.
Be Clear and Concise. State clearly and briefly what your question or concern is, what you need and what you expect.
Be Patient. Health insurance issues can be frustrating and time-consuming. Accept that you will spend a certain amount of time navigating through automated telephone menus, waiting on hold and waiting for the claims process to be completed.
Be Considerate. Most insurance personnel want to do their jobs well, and they have a tough job to do. Thank them when they have been helpful. Speak to them kindly. Assume that they are trying to help you.
Follow Through. If the insurance company asks you to do something or to send additional information, do it right away. Don’t let it slide. This will help them get the bill paid. Above all, be persistent. Stay in touch. Keep after an issue until it is resolved.

Additional Resources

It's always wise to find out what your county and state have to offer in the way of services, even if you think you won't qualify for them. Counties and states all have web sites. Type the name of your state or county and state into any major search engine i.e. Iowa, or Montgomery County, PA. Navigate from there to locate the Department of Health and Human Services and the specific office most relevant to your needs, such as office on disabilities, elder affairs, or maternal and child health.

Other good sources of information include your local hospital or clinic (social work department), area adult day centers, social service and faith-based agencies, and/or the local chapter of the health agency that focuses on your loved one's condition. It is by no means certain that any of these will offer caregiver support services, but they are good places to check, and they are good sources for information about services to directly support your loved one.

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