There's an APP for that Caregiver

We all need a helping hand when we are a family caregiver, and now there are a variety of social media applications that can go a long way to helping caregivers. 

Sometimes the hardest part of caregiving (after surfing all the emotions that arise) is managing your time. Today we know that—statistically—the typical caregiver is a woman in her forties, married, with children at home, caring for an elderly family member. Add work and economic challenges and you have a tsunami of worry and logistics. 

While the best help for the worry is likely a caregiver support group or a phone buddy who has been through it too, the help for managing logistics can now be on your phone or tablet.

Those logistics center around tasks: who is driving Mom, who is shopping, doing respite, picking up prescriptions or talking to the doc?

Talking itself consumes a huge amount of time and caregiver energy—so a way to outsource or support communication can be a lifesaver. Delegating a single scribe to handle updates to the family & friend communities saves the primary caregiver from call after call every night or every time there is a new treatment or procedure.

Here are a few helpful tools to make your caregiver life a little easier:

Google Calendar: It’s free and many people can use it at the same time. Use it to share info and appointments and ride scheduling.

Wunderlist: a task managing ap for multiple users. You list the tasks and participants can agree in real, online time to take a task and complete it. It also provides reminders. There is a free version for up to 25 participants.

Lotsa Helping Hands: is specifically for caregiver management. You can post requests for help listing specific needs and tasks. Family and friends log in to say yes and take that off your plate. There is also a blog feature where news can be shared out to the selected community all at once.

CareZone: an app for medication management. You can scan the prescription bottles with your phone’s camera and the app creates a list and schedule of all medications and dosages. It also provides reminders and health updates. Medication lists are in one place when talking to a doc or intake coordinator.

There are many more like these that you can find by searching for “technology for caregivers”. Many were designed for care in an elderly population but work perfectly in a cancer care/cancer caregiver situation.

And with any hospitalization --or at your chemo center --ask for the patient relations coordinator—don’t be shy about this-they have the latest news on services at their location and in their networks.