The CARE Act has been passed in about a third of all states. In one version or another it requires a hospital or rehabilitation facility to record the name of the family caregiver when a loved one is admitted for treatment, require the family caregiver to be notified if a loved one is going to be discharged to another facility or released to their home, require hospitals and rehabilitation facilities to provide explanations and in-person instruction about medical tasks that the family caregiver will need to provide at home. This just scratches the surface.

Consider that the family caregiver is often the person filling out the Press Ganey survey and you quickly realize the importance of their engagement. Consider the following when looking at deepening relationships with family caregivers. Understand that family caregiver input impacts safety and quality not to mention referrals, word of mouth and revenue. Yet only one in three health care providers asks the family caregiver for input into a loved one’s care and only one in six inquire about the health of the caregiver.

We help organizations engage family caregivers. We provide assistance so providers can:

• Document the family caregiver in the medical record even if your state has not passed the CARE Act.
• Conduct focus groups with family caregivers.
• Establish a Patient Family Advisory Council.
• Promote portal engagement and use of EMR tools for communication.
• Implement a caregiver assessment tool to gauge the state of the health of caregivers.