Care Management Services
Our professional life care managers work like a concierge to guide you through the complex maze of care needs associated with aging and disability. We offer a holistic approach to care, including the following services:
Liaison During Medical Appointments
It can be challenging to understand recommendations from various healthcare providers and how they might affect your loved one. Life care managers pull all the pieces together and help you paint a clear picture of your options so you can make the best decision for yourself. Often rushed, the doctor might not take a holistic approach and may only consider fixing the problem as they see it in the moment. You need someone advocating on your behalf to ensure that you are getting access to the best care possible and being given well thought out options for your consideration.
Whether it’s a new diagnosis or continuing health concern, the associated stress can make navigating the healthcare system extremely difficult. Understanding diagnosis and treatment options are extremely challenging when dealing with the uncertainties and complexities of health care issues. It is imperative to have someone on your side from the beginning, that can provide meaningful guidance and education on how best to approach your healthcare needs.
Our staff has years of experience in medical management, including facilitating, coordinating, and attending appointments with healthcare providers; this means we know what steps should be taken, what questions to ask and what data to collect to help clients and families make educated decisions regarding their healthcare.
Our goal is to make this difficult process easier for you, whether it’s dealing with your own healthcare challenges or those of a loved one. By ensuring you meet with the appropriate healthcare providers, ask the right questions, and understand the recommendations and treatment options, our goal is to make sure you get the service, information and outcomes you deserve. Having a healthcare liaison from the beginning means you will save time, energy, and money, and eliminate much of the stress in the process.
Full Service Coordination
Those in the healthcare industry typically have much better information about health and health care interventions than do consumers. Furthermore, we’re often asked to make significant decisions about our health or the health of someone we love in high-stress circumstances. You may be at the hospital getting rushed out the door or in a skilled nursing facility trying to determine what’s next when insurance stops paying. Our care managers are experts in health and health interventions. They utilize their vast knowledge and expertise to help guide individuals towards making the best decision for their health and well-being. They can help you decide if you need a second opinion, which discharge option best suites your needs, or whether or not it’s an appropriate time to consider beneficial services such as palliative or hospice related care.
At other times, you need a neutral party that’s not emotionally involved to arbitrate difficult decisions among family members with varying ideas about the appropriate care for mom and dad. When you need to make decisions about tax or law, you call your accountant or attorney. Healthcare decisions are similarly complex and can have a significant effect on you or your loved one’s life, so call a life care manager to help facilitate informed decision making every time.
If you have a loved one with a difficult or complex medical situation, in or out of a hospital setting, this presents a lot of stress and challenges to a family. Time, understanding, and life constraints often make it difficult to properly handle what is going on in a medical crisis. We will be your family’s advocate and simplify the complexities. There’s no distance we won’t go to ensure that your healthcare experience is backed with wisdom, resources and caring. We want to be “the wind beneath your wings” to guide you to a positive healthcare experience and the best possible outcome.
Monitoring
Monitoring is a key service provided by Family Tree; from checking in on the well-being of a loved to alerting families to issues of concern. Additionally, our care managers work to ensure caregiver performance meets the appropriate requirements.
Benefits Facilitation
Insurance can be extremely complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. Our care managers will review healthcare benefits and liaison with insurance carriers to maximize coverage opportunities while maintaining communication with family and responsible parties.
Many times it’s unclear what is or is not covered and the insurance benefits can end up driving the treatment option chosen, regardless of the medical implications. We want to be your advocate to maximize your insurance benefits.
Medication Management
Our life care managers will create and maintain comprehensive a medication list and observe compliance and monitor supply on-hand.
Manage Transitions
Without the help of an expert, the process of transitioning from one facility to another is often a complicated one. Family Tree is your go-to coordinator and advocate for transitional care coordination at the time of discharge to home, rehabilitation, LTAC and other levels of care.
Confused about the next steps after being discharged from a hospital and the next level of care that you or your loved one will qualify for? Let a liaison do the groundwork and advocate on your behalf. Overwhelmed with the many follow-up appointments for you or a loved one? Not sure which appointments even need to be made? Your health advocate will coordinate and prioritize every aspect of the transition. A liaison will facilitate home health care and safety needs. You can rest easy knowing that your care doesn’t end when you walk out of a hospital.
Transitioning your home to meet the healthcare needs for you or a family member has many moving parts. We will help you coordinate and make educated decisions regarding home safety requirements and enhance abilities to safely perform activities of daily living.
When it’s time to consider senior living options for a loved one, it can become a family decision with many considerations. You want to make sure that your loved one gets the care they need at the location that fits their needs within their budget. Or maybe you need to move a loved one from one facility to another. Whether you live down the street or in another country, finding the ongoing time to navigate and transition your family member into a new environment can be overwhelming. A liaison is here to help you! We want to understand your goals and desires, while using our experience to help you determine the best options for your loved one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you provide medical services?
No. A life care manager’s role is to serve as educators and facilitators assisting clients in making informed healthcare decisions and obtain the best possible healthcare outcome.
Do you attend medical appointments with clients?
Yes. This is a truly valuable service. A life care manager will communicate with the healthcare provider and develop a roadmap to facilitate educated health care decisions for the best possible health care outcome.
Do you prescribe medications?
No. As life care managers, we educate the client regarding care options, but we do not prescribe medications.
How many hours will Family Tree help me with my healthcare needs?
Family Tree can assist clients and their families for a specific event or for specific time periods. Family Tree is experienced in navigating the healthcare system and will help you achieve your administrative and healthcare-related goals.
What is the cost?
How do healthcare providers view the care manager?
Our clients sign a consent form allowing us to access medical records, attend healthcare appointments and be included in discussion with the healthcare providers. A life care manager will provide both our clients and their healthcare provider(s) a valuable tool by bridging the gap in communication, understanding and decision making for all parties.
Do you make house visits, clinic and hospital visits?
Yes, a liaison can visit you at home, work, the doctor’s office and/or the hospital.