Care management is a growing field in healthcare nationwide offering families alternatives to traditional geriatric care solutions. Families can now engage professionals to create care plans that offer varied services to meet an individual’s specific needs and desire for independence. Care management practitioners provide assessments, create plans and manage programs to ensure services are being delivered appropriately.

As you explore care management services for your family, it is important to remember three things because different care managers provide different services in different ways.

1. Care managers may offer different services for different pricing. Some will charge separately for assessments and plans, even charge for phone calls to discuss your needs. It is critical to understand exactly how a care manager intends to serve you and exactly how they intend to charge you for those services.

2. All care managers should be licensed professionals with experience in geriatric services. There are many types of home care service providers, including aides, companions and personal assistants, among others. These are different than a professional care manager and may not have the skills to create a comprehensive life care plan.

3. In many cases, care managers will provide referral services only. They might work alone and lack the organizational support to ensure long-term trusted service delivery. Ask your care managers about their organization and how they manage their network of providers to ensure trusted, customized service delivery.