Steps for Creating and Maintaining a Care Plan

Key points

  • A care plan can help caregivers better manage their caregiving responsibilities, alongside their own personal lives.
  • Care plans include critical information about the person receiving care, such as their health condition(s), treatment(s), care needs, and provider contacts.
  • This helps caregivers organize and prioritize caregiving needs.
Two older peopleAn older man and woman sitting on a sofa with a younger woman caregiver. and a caregiver

Overview

A care plan is a form where you can summarize a person's health conditions, specific care needs, and current treatments.

Care plans can help:

  • Keep important caregiving information in one place.
  • To organize and prioritize caregiving activities.
  • Give a sense of control and confidence when managing caregiving tasks.
  • Assure that the care recipient's needs are being met.
  • To ensure consistent care when transitioning caregivers.

Care plans can be especially helpful if you care for more than one person.

Care Plan Overview

Caring for others‎

Millions of U.S. adults are caring for someone aged 50 or older.
Keep Reading: Download Care Plan Form

Getting started

What to include in the care plan

The plan should include important information about the person receiving care, including their:

  • Name, date of birth, and contact information.
  • Health condition(s).
  • Medicines, dosages, and when/how they are given.
  • Health care providers with contact information.
  • Health insurance information.
  • Emergency contacts.

Tips

Developing a care plan

  • Begin a care planning conversation with the person you care for.
  • If the person receiving care is unable to provide all the information needed:
    • Talk to others who regularly interact with them, like a family member.
    • Invite them to join the discussions.
    • Help complete the form.
  • Ask about suitable care options for the person you care for.
    • Medicare covers appointments to manage chronic conditions and discuss advanced care plans.
    • These appointments include planning appointments for people with dementia, memory problems, or suspected cognitive impairment.
  • Try to update the care plan every year, or more often if the person you care for has a change in health or medicines.
    • Remember to respect the care recipient's privacy after discussing their health conditions.

Benefits of a care plan

  • Care plans can reduce emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
    • They can also improve overall medical management for those with a chronic condition, like Alzheimer's disease.
  • A care plan summarizes a person’s health conditions and current treatments for their care.
    • The information contained in the care plan includes items such as the person's medications, health care providers, insurance and other information and makes these resources easily accessible for you.
  • Care plans can help maintain quality of life and independence for the care recipient.

Caregiver health

Caregivers can experience emotional, psychological, and physical strain.

Find healthy habits you can adopt as a caregiver to continue caring for yourself. Make sure to discuss any concerns you have with your health care provider.

Resources

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Content Source:
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion