Guide gives consumers tips on the topic of care assessments

Anyone in need of long-term care receives benefits from long-term care insurance, for example to pay for a care service or inpatient care. The prerequisite for this is that the Medical Service (MD) determines the need for care in an expert opinion. The employees of the MD assess the current situation of the person in need of care on site and ask specific questions based on defined assessment criteria.

The updated edition of the book "Das Pflegegutachten" by Stefan Palmowski, from the Chair for the Training of Personal and Interpersonal Skills in Healthcare at Witten/Herdecke University (UW/H), offers detailed preparation for the assessment appointment.

A care checklist helps to understand the assessment process

The book explains simply and comprehensibly how the assessment is carried out, what questions the person in need of care and their relatives can expect to be asked and what criteria must be met for the need for care.

The book also contains a comprehensive care checklist that includes all the modules that are checked during the MD's on-site visit. These modules assess the independence of the person in need of care in the following areas:

• Mobility (e.g. sitting, moving, climbing stairs)
• Cognitive and communicative abilities (e.g. recognising people, spatial and temporal orientation)
• Behavioural and psychological problems (e.g. physical and verbal aggressive behaviour, delusions, anxiety)
• Self-care (e.g. personal hygiene, dressing and undressing)
• Coping with and independently dealing with illness- or therapy-related demands and stresses (e.g. help with medication, accompaniment to medical or therapeutic consultations)
• Organising everyday life and social contacts (e.g. interacting with people, maintaining contacts, keeping busy)

The updated edition of "Das Pflegegutachten" provides consumers with a valuable guide that comprehensively prepares them for the assessment appointment and thus helps them to receive the best possible care and support.

Further information: The book costs 12 euros and is available here, for example: Das Pflegegutachten - Verbraucherzentrale (ratgeber-verbraucherzentrale.de)