The Critical Importance of Care Plans

Care plans have several important roles to play. Having been created with the patient’s input, they help make sure that the client’s wishes are respected. Providing services that aren’t in a care plan would raise questions about whether a client has truly consented to receiving those services.

Your care plans also provide clarity for clients and carers alike. Detailed aged care and NDIS care plans ensure that clients know when, where and how they will receive specific services. This gives them greater control over their daily life and an enhanced sense of autonomy. 

And, alongside recent progress notes, these documents serve as a point of reference for carers and support workers as they make on-shift care-related decisions.

Over the long term, your care plans will also help you to better evaluate patient outcomes. Since they are tied to clients’ care objectives, they provide a framework for determining if care provision is proving successful or if the services require adapting.

How to Build Care Plans for Better Service Delivery 

Well-written care plans ensure the delivery of appropriate services, something that is essential for ensuring positive patient outcomes and a good use of NDIS, Home Care Package and clients’ personal funds.

For this reason, aged care and NDIS care plans should be built only after an in-depth analysis of the client’s needs, strengths, objectives, resources and budget. They must also be collaborative documents, created with the client’s input and consent. Both patient safety and patient satisfaction are a priority. Value for money and cost-effectiveness should be given serious consideration.

When drafting a care plan, be as specific as possible and tie care services to the client’s goals and needs. This will help ensure that the planned care services are appropriate, plus it will give your carer team the direction they need to provide a higher standard of care. Our individual care plan templates and examples will help you with this.

Using Care Plans to Boost Patient Care Service Quality 

Well-written care plans can improve patient care quality, but only when they are used correctly by your team. If a client’s carer is not familiar with the care plan, then it will have little impact on patient outcomes.

Make sure your care team can easily review their assigned clients’ care plans. The ShiftCare mobile app gives document access to rostered caregivers only, so you can protect patients’ privacy while ensuring that your staff members have all the information they need.

You can also use ShiftCare to set up client goals and strategies, and then prompt caregivers to score the clients’ progress towards these goals and strategies at the end of each shift. This helps keep service delivery and care notes focused on the care plan, plus it makes it easy to monitor progress.

Remember that building and implementing a care plan is only the first step in the care planning cycle. You should also periodically review the plan with the client, update it together, and then communicate those updates to all relevant stakeholders. Set up document expiry notifications to help you stay on top of your care plan review dates.

Care Document Management Made Simple

ShiftCare’s care management software is built around the needs of NDIS and aged care providers. It helps you roster your team, manage clients’ funds, track progress towards goals, create bulk invoices and manage care documentation.

You’ll be able to securely store and share care plans, create progress note templates for your team, and set up document expiry notifications so you never miss a care plan review.

Try ShiftCare for free.

What are care plans?

Care plans are documents created in collaboration with the client. They outline their care needs, the services they will receive, and when and where those services will be provided.

What is the goal of a care plan?

Care plans have many goals, including ensuring that clients’ wishes are respected, that the care provided is appropriate, and that both carer and client know which services will be provided.

How do I create a care plan?

To create a care plan, start by evaluating the client’s care needs, strengths and goals. Make sure the client participates in the care plan creation and that it suits their budget.