genus perspective
A care plan should include the caregiver
The 2024 launch of Medicare’s GUIDE model put caregiver support alongside dementia care. Our takeaway: a useful plan should make room for the person giving care, too.
What we found in the news
In its July 8, 2024 article (opens in a new tab), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services described the launch of GUIDE, a dementia-care model that brings care coordination, caregiver education and certain respite services into a broader support approach.
“The GUIDE Model aims to increase access to much-needed support for people living with dementia and their caregivers.”
— Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, July 8, 2024
The announcement described the model at launch; it did not report demonstrated results.
Why this matters to us
A plan can explain what someone needs and still leave the family wondering how to make it happen. At genus, we value an approach that gives the caregiver’s questions a place alongside the person’s preferences.
The useful question is concrete: when the next appointment, errand or difficult afternoon arrives, does everyone know whom to contact and what they have agreed to do?
A practical place to start
At the next planning conversation, ask:
- Who will coordinate the next steps?
- What training or explanation would help the family feel prepared?
- Where can we ask about respite or other local support?
Include the person receiving care in decisions as fully as they want and are able to participate. A family plan should reflect their choices, not just other people’s availability.
The genus connection
Today, the genusConnect Care App and Care Wall (opens in a new tab) can bring enabled conversations, events, tasks and prepared resources into a familiar place for invited members. Availability depends on the organization’s setup and permissions.
Those functions can help organize an agreed plan. They do not supply respite, establish benefit eligibility or demonstrate that genus participates in GUIDE. The design lesson we take from the announcement is to make the caregiver’s next step easier to find.
One question to take away
Does your current plan say who supports the caregiver as clearly as it says who supports the person receiving care?
Supporting references
- Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience by Clearing the Path for Comprehensive, High-Quality Dementia Care (opens reference preview; direct link opens in a new tab)
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · 2024-07-08
Original launch commentary describing GUIDE’s dementia-care model and its caregiver support components. It describes an intervention being tested, not completed outcome evidence.
