The Caregiver Handoff Checklist: What to Leave Behind When Someone Else Takes Over

A good handoff means the next person does not have to call you to find out the basics.

By Mike Whobrey

November is National Family Caregivers Month. This year Caregiver Action Network chose the theme "Care Connects Us," and its first webinar, on November 3, is about the middle of it all: work, family and caregiving at the same time (Caregiver Action Network). Part of that session is about asking for help.

Asking for help is hard. Handing off well makes it a little easier. When a sibling covers a weekend, a friend sits in for an afternoon, or a sitter steps in so you can get to work, the hardest part is often not the care itself. It is everything that lives only in your head.

This checklist is a way to get it out of your head and into a place the next person can find.

Before you leave

1. Who to call, in order. Write down your number, a backup person, and the primary doctor's office. Say who to call first. "Call me" is not a plan if you are on a plane.

2. The current medication list. Names, doses and times, with the date you last checked it at the top. If anything is as-needed, say when it is used and who decides. Do not leave this as "the bottles are in the cabinet."

3. Allergies and things to avoid. Medications, foods, latex, anything that matters. Put this near the top of whatever you leave, not on page three.

4. Conditions a stranger would need to know. Not the whole history. Just what a paramedic or urgent care nurse would ask about. If you are not sure what belongs here, ask the doctor's office what they would want a stand-in caregiver to know.

5. The daily rhythm. Meals, naps, appointments, routines that keep the day calm. Include what usually helps when the day is not calm.

6. How they communicate. If the person you care for has trouble speaking, hearing or understanding, write down what works. Short questions? A notepad? A favorite phrase that means "I need a break"?

7. Where things are. Insurance cards, ID, the spare key, mobility equipment, chargers. A two-line list saves twenty minutes of searching.

8. What counts as an emergency. Write down "call 911 if..." in your own words, using what the doctor has told you. And say plainly: if in doubt, call 911 first, then call me.

9. Permission and paperwork. If the stand-in may need to talk to a doctor or pharmacy, find out ahead of time what they will need. Each office handles this differently.

10. A way to check in. Agree on how you will hear about the day: a text at dinner, a note on the counter, a quick call.

Make it one place, not five

Most of us keep this information in pieces: a note on the phone, a sheet on the fridge, a folder in the car, and the rest in memory. That works for you because you know where every piece is. It does not work for the person filling in.

Pick one home for the parts that matter in an emergency. A printed sheet on the fridge is a fine start. Just put a date on it and keep it short.

An emergency medical profile can be that home too. With MyAllyFile, you fill in the medical details and emergency contacts once, and you get a QR code. Stick it on the fridge, the wheelchair, or a keychain. Anyone with a phone camera can open it, and the profile is protected by a PIN you choose. You can give the stand-in caregiver a trusted PIN so they can see the profile while they are covering for you.

The handoff conversation

Paper is not the whole handoff. Before you go, spend five minutes walking through it together:

  • Read the medication list out loud.
  • Show them where the QR code and the paper copy are.
  • Tell them the one thing you worry about most.
  • Ask what they are unsure about.

Then let them do it their way. They do not need to do it the way you do. They just need what you know.

Taking the break

This month is about recognizing the people who do this work every day. If a good handoff lets you leave for an afternoon without your phone buzzing every ten minutes, that counts. CAN runs a free Caregiver Help Desk at (855) 227-3640 if you want to talk to someone about finding support (Caregiver Action Network).

Get set up in ten minutes

Want to see what a responder sees before you build anything? Open the sample emergency profile. It uses fictional data, so you can click around freely. When you are ready, create a free profile. Any phone camera opens the QR code, with no app and no account for the person scanning.

Next in this series: a printable medication list, and how to keep it from going stale.

MyAllyFile is a convenience for the people around you. It is not a substitute for calling 911 or getting emergency medical care, and it does not replace a medical ID bracelet. It is also not professional medical advice.