Frequently Asked Questions
What do your reports review?
Our reports review and report on:
Medication Regimens
We review your loved ones’ current list of Medications for possible unnecessary medications, duplicate therapies, and errors.
Laboratory Results
Labs and X-rays are frequently ordered in nursing homes and serve as a window into your loved one's overall state of health but, more importantly, the quality of care being provided. A thorough analysis of the lab results and trends can reveal adverse events like dehydration, fecal impaction, Urinary Tract Infections (UTI), or fractures – events commonly associated with poor levels of care.
Vital Signs and Weight Records
A sudden change from a resident’s baseline vital signs and weight is NOT normal. For instance, while healthy weight loss is at times encouraged, a loss of greater than 5% in 1 month might suggest potential complications. Many facilities fail to recognize, evaluate, and address the needs of every resident and they may experience dehydration or impaired nutrition as a result.
Progress Notes from Doctors and Nurses
Every day, hundreds of thousands of lines of notes are documented in patient charts. It takes a trained eye to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. Often, the true story is embedded within the lines of notes and it’s our job to bring out the facts for your objective review.
Shower Records and Skin Notes
Pressure Ulcers (bedsores) are a chief sign of substandard quality of care. Just because your loved one is bed-bound does not mean that it is normal for Pressure Ulcers to develop. To mitigate the development of these painful and hard-to-heal sores, nurses are required to complete weekly skin checks and provide showers at least twice a week (in addition to daily skin checks by the nursing assistants). We review your loved one’s records to validate adherence to the facility’s skin integrity protocols.
Investigation and Incident Reports
Often, that 4 AM phone call goes something like this: "I am calling to inform you that your mother has a [insert unexplained event here – bruise, skin tear, fracture or even death]. We are currently investigating what happened and will update you with our findings." While it is always important to allow time for the facility to conduct their internal investigations, as your loved one’s advocate, it behooves you to have an independent review of the facts. Each month, we review all incidents with the goal of ensuring everything has been done to mitigate the risk of re-occurrence.
Certified Associate Virtual Visits*
Our virtual visits serve as an important support for a resident's emotional well-being and can help assure your loved one receives quality care. These random and unannounced drop-ins by our certified Associates are an important time to look for changes in your loved one's health and mental status.
*Subject to availability for visitors inside facilities.
How does it work?
The process begins the same way for either our Sentinel or Knight's Watch plans.
Once you sign up on our website and pay for your plan, we send you a HIPAA authorization form. This gives us permission to review the patient's medical records.
We then reach out to the nursing home to get the records we need. After reviewing them, we create our Quality of Care report and Summary of Findings. We upload the report to your account and notify you.
You review the reports. If you have questions at any time, you can always reach out to us.
If corrective action is recommended, you can also ask us to join you in speaking to the patient's care team and/or facility administrators.
If you have a Sentinel plan, the process ends here. If you have a Knight's Watch plan, we review and create reports every month for a minimum of 3 months to keep an eye on trends over time.
What will you do if you find problems? Will you just ask nicely for the facility to do better?
Nursing homes have to comply with dozens of government regulations related to patient care. We will certainly approach the facility nicely but we will not simply ask them to do something: we will tell them what regulations they are failing to meet and the legal implications if they do not meet them.
Who reviews my loved one's medical records?
Our staff are licensed nurses. They have extensive medical training and some have experience working in facilities like the ones where your patient resides, so they know the challenges and needs first hand.
Why should I trust you?
We understand that your trust is valuable and want you to feel confident before purchasing our services. This is one of the reasons we offer a free consultation prior to purchase. Additionally, we have been working in healthcare for more than 15 years and can provide references upon request.
Can you review medical records from any state?
Yes, we can review records from any state.
What do I do if there's a problem with my loved one's care? Can you help me talk to the nursing home?
Yes, we can help you speak with the staff at the nursing home. All you need to do is contact us via email or call us on the phone. We will stand with you as you protect your senior.
Do I really need this service? If anything happens to my loved one, can't I just call a lawyer and sue the nursing home to make it right?
The short answer is that it depends on whether you want to manage your loved one's care proactively or reactively.
Our service is designed to safeguard your loved one's health. We watch for early signs of a problem so that we can inform you in time to take corrective action with the nursing home staff. The goal is to prevent major harms from occuring. Lawyers make their most effective cases after harms have already happened. That may help future patients in the nursing home but not your loved one.
Lawyers also have specific criteria for the cases they take. It must be financially viable for them to take your case, and not all cases will fit their criteria. Lawyers usually charge thousands of dollars for their expertise, either before you begin or after you win. We can help any patient, and we do so for the cost of a cup of coffee per day.
Our staff is also well qualified to review medical records and understand trends in them. Lawyers may hire experts to do that (with additional cost), but our team has direct experience working in it. We think that provides us with the best chance of seeing problems, working with you and the nursing home to correct them, and keeping your senior healthier and happier.
Is nursing home abuse a real problem?
You are not alone in worrying about the health of loved ones in nursing homes. The problem is widespread nationally. Here are just a few examples of nursing home abuse and neglect from across the nation. Here are a few news reports where you can learn more:
Why does the Knight's Watch plan include an Amazon Echo Dot? How would I use that with my loved one?
Seniors in nursing home facilities often feel lonely. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when visits and activities have been prohibited, nursing home residents spend a lot of time on their own. While technology can be helpful, seniors often struggle to use cell phones and other devices effectively. It may be difficult for seniors to find cell phones in their rooms, to keep them charged, or to use them when their vision or fine motor control is limited.
The Amazon Echo Dot stays plugged in at all times and works with voice commands. Using the Lilly app, you can turn the device into a kind of intercom for you and your loved one. You can connect with the device in your loved one's room directly at any time. No more worrying that their phone lost its charge or they won't answer the call in time. Your loved one one too can say “Alexa, call my daughter” and be connected without having to read a small screen or dial the number themselves. You can even ask the device to play their favorite music for them. It's a wonderful tool for fostering your connection, and we are pleased to offer a free device for our Knight's Watch customers.
What kind of payments do you accept?
We use Stripe to securely process payments online. We accept all major credit cards as well as free direct debit from your bank account.