Next Step in Care provides easy-to-use guides to help family caregivers and health care providers work closely together to plan and implement safe and smooth transitions for chronically or seriously ill patients.

Transitions are moves between care settings, for example, hospital to home or rehab facility, or the start or end of home care agency services. Because transitions are often rushed, miscommunication and errors can occur.

Next Step in Care materials emphasize careful planning, clear communication, and ongoing care coordination.

View Next Step in Care on your smart phone or other mobile device. See the easy instructional video here.

Action Agenda on Transitions Released

At a major conference, the United Hospital Fund launched an agenda of ten action steps to improve transitions in care. These steps lay the foundation for health care professionals to make family caregivers part of the care team, and for regulators, payers, and accrediting agencies to align financing and accreditation policies.

TC-QuIC Report Online

For more than 3 years, 45 teams from health care organizations in New York City have worked together—in the Transitions in Care–Quality Improvement Collaborative, or TC-QuIC—to improve transitions by partnering with family caregivers on critical topics, such as medication, caregiver needs assessment, and advance care planning. Read the full report and summary.

Planned Surgery for Older Adults

Even when patients and family caregivers know about surgery in advance, all of the details can be daunting. What should we ask the surgeon about risks? What costs might we be responsible for? What expectations should we have after surgery? These and many other related topics are addressed in "A Family Caregiver's Guide to Surgery for Older Adults."