Understand your care process
Good care is not just about the correct diagnosis or treatment. The steps in between, the division of roles and a careful transfer also determine whether a plan really gets off the ground.
Six recognizable moments in a care process
The precise order may differ, but each transition should make it clear what the outcome is and who monitors the next step.
Request for help and referral
What is the question, what information is included and does the referral fit with the offering of the receiving organization?
Registration and waiting time
Has the registration been received, how does triage take place, when will contact take place and who will remain the point of contact until the intake?
Intake and diagnostics
Which complaints, goals, risks, context and previous treatments are examined? What is still uncertain?
Treatment plan and decision making together
What is the goal, what treatment is proposed, what alternatives are there and when will the evaluation take place?
Implementation and evaluation
Is the treatment being carried out as agreed, what changes and what happens if there is insufficient results or side effects?
Closing, aftercare or transfer
What has been achieved, which signals require action, who will take over and when is the transfer actually accepted?
A job title is less important than a clear responsibility
Referrer
Formulates the request for assistance and relevant history. Ask what happens if the receiving organization does not accept the referral.
Directing practitioner or coordinator
Monitors coherence, evaluation and coordination in accordance with the organization's agreements. Ask who this is specifically and how you can reach that person.
Executive practitioner
Performs part of the treatment and discusses progress and bottlenecks. This can be the same person as the coordinating practitioner, but does not have to be.
You as a patient
Brings goals, preferences, experiences and concerns. That does not make you responsible for solving organizational gaps between healthcare providers.
Close friend or supporter
Can help remember, ask questions or share signals with your permission. Agree on what information will and will not be shared.
Host organization
Must make it clear whether she will take over the care. A sent letter is not yet a completed transfer.
Five questions that help at every pivotal point
Ask for a specific summary, including what has not yet been determined.
Note a person or organization and not just “we'll keep in touch”.
Agree on a date, term or clear callback time.
Link treatment to complaints and goals in daily functioning.
Agree who you will call in the event of deterioration, postponement, rejection or insufficient results.
Where is the bottleneck: in a step, a transfer or coordination?
These pages explore three common process questions in depth without repeating the medical content of a treatment.
Where does it chafe?
Investigate whether there is a problem with access, coordination, decision-making, implementation or aftercare.
Visualize the bottleneck →Nobody takes control
Recognize what happens when multiple parties are involved, but no one monitors coherence.
Read about missing direction →Coordination with a mandate
Read why coordination only works if responsibilities, decision-making space and escalation are clear.
Understand direction with mandate →Transitions are moments of risk
A process can come to a standstill without a single medical choice being the cause. Unclear waiting time responsibility, an unaccepted transfer or a treatment plan without an evaluation date are process problems that can be made visible.
Waiting for mental health care
What can you ask for during the waiting time and what routes are available if waiting becomes unsafe or untenable?
View the options →Care stopped or denied
Map out the reason, decision, alternative and responsibility step by step.
View the step-by-step plan →Second opinion
A second assessment can help if you have doubts about diagnosis, treatment or next steps.
Read how it works →Your file
Reports, treatment plans and correspondence help to trace decisions and transfers.
Read about file inspection →PGO and own data
A personal health environment can help keep information from different sources together.
Read what a PGO does and does not do →Independent client support
A support person can help to organize questions, choices and agreements in a complicated process.
View support →