# Circle of Care With an aging population that continues to grow and the number of people living with chronic disease increasing, health care is shifting from hospital to community and family. Family members are key to the delivery of long-term care for patients and loved ones. Circles of Care is the space in between self-care and the medical-expert space, where people are creating their well-being strategies. In your circle of care, your partner, family, friends, and neighborhood help you to maintain your daily health and well-being. These personal well-being networks are constructed from a person’s experience and contacts. These experiences heighten general awareness of health and require greater levels of support, especially in growing a social network of personal care.
Circles of Care Activators are people who can play an active role in your circle of care. These include your family, partner, friends, neighborhood, and work colleagues, among others. The research suggests that most people have some form of supportive network, "spheres of support" or Circles of Care. These circles are not solutions for health but networks that have to be built, shared, and maintained. The central feature of the Circles of Care model and health as a social activity is the network. The network is key and is, in effect, the product of the service. At the moment, healthcare systems are improving the delivery of solutions to problems, but this new model provides a "support space" before the problems arise and the capacity to respond when they do. ## Circle of Care A Care Circle is an informally created, often spontaneous group of people who come together in support of a person, cause, community, or event. In the Ability Hub world of care, you may assign various roles to people in your circle of care. While the roles align directly with the expectations and engagement expected in social settings, the app also uses various roles to customize the functionality and access to various parts of the app. ### The Patient The circle of care in our app revolves around a patient. The patient, client, or family member is someone whose welfare and quality of life are expected to be improved by providing appropriate social and mental support. Usually, a patient, if he or she has a phone and is capable of using the phone apps, is invited by a caregiver to establish a digital support group or circle of care for this person. However, a patient may also sign up and establish her own circle of care. When a person directly downloads the app and signs up for the first time, they are assigned the role of a caregiver. A patient, however, can easily change her role as a 'Patient' and then subsequently invite other people in her group as either a caregiver or a contact. ### Caregivers A caregiver is a person who helps someone else with daily activities, such as bathing, eating, taking medicine, or running errands. Caregivers can be family members, friends, neighbors, social workers, health professionals, or members of the clergy. They can provide care in a variety of settings, including at home, in a hospital, or in other healthcare settings. Caregiver burden is defined as the strain or load borne by a person who cares for a chronically ill, disabled, or elderly family member. Caregiver burden is related to the well-being of both the patient and caregiver; therefore, understanding the attributes associated with caregiver burden is important. The Ability Hub app is primarily aimed at caregivers and provides them with tools to understand, measure, and then use social support to alleviate this burden, thereby leading to enhanced quality of care for the patient. A caregiver in the Ability Hub app is most likely expected to be the initiator of a new circle of care. A caregiver in the Ability Hub platform has access to several functionalities, including inviting more people to join the circle, initiating requests for help on behalf of the patient, and in general, acting as a medical or health proxy for the person being cared for. ### Contacts The best care is always provided by your friends, well-wishers, and even your neighbors. You can create a small, closed group that you can rely on to help contribute to supplement your effort, help provide respite care, or even simply share updates with them. The people in the 'contact' role can be kept aware of your progress, may see your posts, and also respond to your requests for occasional help. Either the patient himself or a caregiver may invite someone to join the circle of care for a patient. You can invite a person to join the circle of care by specifying the patient and the role the invitee is expected to play. A circle of care will always have a patient, possibly one or more caregivers, and an optional group of contacts (none or more) that could be relied upon for various support. The Circle of Care on the [Fieldworker platform](https://www.google.com/search?q=https://app.gitbook.com/o/l66ooAirOIZbkkTyDA8V/s/FKFmA5xK4sMCcp1WP4Kc/fundamentals/concepts/circle-of-care) is a collaborative, secure hub designed to bridge the communication gap between professional staff, family members, and the participant. It serves as a "unified narrative" where the social and clinical aspects of care meet. For family members, this view is specifically tailored to reduce the Caregiver Burden by providing transparent, real-time access to the participant's daily life and health status. #### 1. The Patient Journal (The Timeline) The heart of the Circle of Care is the Patient Journal. This is a chronological feed of updates that keeps family members "in the loop" without requiring constant phone calls to the agency: * Daily Logs: Brief updates from caregivers about the participant’s mood, activities, and meals. * Milestones: Highlights significant achievements or improvements in the participant’s [Goals & Needs](https://www.google.com/search?q=https://app.gitbook.com/o/l66ooAirOIZbkkTyDA8V/s/FKFmA5xK4sMCcp1WP4Kc/fundamentals/concepts/goals-and-needs). * Media Sharing: Caregivers can upload photos or videos of community outings or therapy sessions, providing visual reassurance to the family. #### 2. Integrated Medication Management As discussed with the [OpenFDA database](https://app.gitbook.com/o/l66ooAirOIZbkkTyDA8V/s/FKFmA5xK4sMCcp1WP4Kc/fundamentals/concepts/openfda-medication-database), the Circle of Care includes a dedicated Medications module. Here, family members can: * View Active Prescriptions: See a verified list of what the participant is currently taking. * Access Clinical Details: Click on any medication to see its [Indications, Dosage, and Side Effects](https://app.gitbook.com/o/l66ooAirOIZbkkTyDA8V/s/FKFmA5xK4sMCcp1WP4Kc/fundamentals/concepts/openfda-medication-database) directly from the FDA database. * Monitor Adherence: See a log of when medications were administered by staff, helping to identify any missed doses. * Claims History: View pharmaceutical claims via the [Blue Button 2.0](https://app.gitbook.com/o/l66ooAirOIZbkkTyDA8V/s/FKFmA5xK4sMCcp1WP4Kc/fundamentals/concepts/openfda-medication-database) integration, providing a second layer of verification. #### 3. AI-Powered Family Support Within the Circle of Care, family members have access to an AI Assistant that acts as a 24/7 knowledge partner. Families can interact with the AI to: * Translate Clinical Jargon: Ask for simple explanations of diagnosis codes or complex medical terms found in the [Electronic Disability Record (EDR)](https://www.google.com/search?q=https://app.gitbook.com/o/l66ooAirOIZbkkTyDA8V/s/FKFmA5xK4sMCcp1WP4Kc/fundamentals/concepts/electronic-disability-record). * Get Advice: Ask questions like, *"What are the common side effects of Mom's new blood pressure medication?"* or *"How can I help my brother stay calm during a doctor's visit?"* * Safety Checks: Inquire about potential drug interactions if they are considering an over-the-counter supplement. #### 4. Coordination & Collaboration * Direct Messaging: Family members can message the primary Support Coordinator or Agency Manager directly from the hub, keeping all professional communication in one auditable place. * Task Visibility: View upcoming appointments or [Checklists](https://app.gitbook.com/o/l66ooAirOIZbkkTyDA8V/s/FKFmA5xK4sMCcp1WP4Kc/fundamentals/concepts/checklists) that require family action (e.g., "Renew dental authorization by Friday"). #### 💡 The Impact: Reducing Caregiver Burden By providing this "Circle," the [Fieldworker platform](https://www.google.com/search?q=https://app.gitbook.com/o/l66ooAirOIZbkkTyDA8V/s/FKFmA5xK4sMCcp1WP4Kc/fundamentals/concepts/circle-of-care) transforms the family from passive recipients of care into active partners. This transparency builds trust between the agency and the family, leading to higher satisfaction rates and better clinical outcomes for the participant. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://fieldworker.gitbook.io/fieldworker-docs/fundamentals/concepts/circle-of-care.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.