What is a plan of care? A plan of care is a detailed plan, kind of like a roadmap for everyone involved in giving care. Plans of care are used to plan how to meet a client’s unmet needs. A good Plan of Care is clear, easy to follow, and provides a rationale for the interventions. It focuses on these main areas:
- health condition(s) causing the problem;
- identified, unmet needs;
- service schedules; and,
- follow-up plans.
The plan of care serves as a blueprint for all caregivers. To be effective, the plan of care must be accessible to all people involved in the care of the client. Consequently, a copy should be kept in the client’s home not only to assist the caregivers but also to inform the client/client’s family.
So why is this important? Well, without a plan it is easy to deviate and that can cause important issues to be neglected.
It is also important that the plan of care be fluid and changeable so that things can be added/removed depending on the client’s needs.
At Executive Home Care, we know how important the plan of care is, so we require that is be created by a nurse. We also send in a nurse for assessments to keep the plan up to date.