Quality care involves providing safety and tending to a patient’s basic needs. It also means patients should be as involved as possible when making decisions about their care.
A caregiver should be knowledgeable about the patient as an entire person. Important characteristics about a person one is caring for include where they were born, family history, hobbies, activities, former (or current) occupation, and routines.
As the primary or former caregiver, it is important to evaluate new care situations from time to time. Care practices may become irrelevant or require adjustment based on the patient’s changing needs. In addition, the types of services offered by the care provider may become obsolete when a patient requires more, or less care.
When evaluating care services, ask these simple questions:
- Does the service meet the needs?
- Can the service be improved? If so, how?
- What is necessary that the current service cannot provide?
- What works best for the patient?
- Can the current care service meet the patient’s new needs?
- Is there a care service available that can meet the new needs?