November is National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness and Caregivers Month. Alzheimer’s, like many debilitating conditions, not only affects sufferers but family members and caregivers as well.
Sadly, the rate of Alzheimer’s instances is outpacing research and treatments, making caring for patients a long-term proposition. In 2014 alone, it is estimated that friends and family of those with Alzheimer’s contributed 17.9 billion hours of unpaid care. The day-to-day responsibility of providing this oversight is draining and can lead to depression and physical ailments as well.
Nursing an Alzheimer’s patient doesn’t necessarily have to result in caregivers neglecting themselves. Tools like InstantPHR can help ensure that the well-being of caregivers doesn’t become secondary.
InstantPHR lets those in the trenches communicate with other family members and friends who live far away. The shared decision making function of the InstantPHR portal creates a circle of care makes it less isolating.
With the option to create accounts for each family member, caretakers can tie their profile to the patient’s. Then they can utilize daily journals to track moods so symptoms of depression can be flagged and addressed before they reach a critical stage.
Customized Alzheimer’s educational information can also be accessible to those with permission to view the patient’s data.
The Alzheimer’s Association provides many tools for those with the disease as well as those providing care. InstantPHR is a wonderful complement to these resources as it unites all those involved under one umbrella.