Case Notes provide a record of session content. Lend A Friend provides each Participant with a digital notebook, which Helpers can add notes to after each shift, and these notes can be requested to be sent to anyone who might benefit from them at the Participant’s request.

Some things that we can capture in the notebook include:

• Tracking progress of a Participant and how they are working toward their goals
• Capturing meltdowns and learning:
  • What triggered them
  • How they were managed
  • What works and doesn’t work
• Documenting outstanding tasks and completed outcomes
• Taking notes on appointments and medical advice from health professionals and doctors

Some benefits of thorough case notes include:

• Easy forwarding of case notes and progress to allied health professionals and other supports so that everyone is on the same page
• Having clear records of progress, so accurate progress reports and support letters can be made, which assists with NDIS reviews and requests for more funding
• Transparency and clarity on how Helpers support the Participant

Despite the benefits, we realise that each Participant is different, has unique needs, and may not need thorough or any case notes as part of their care. For this reason, thorough case notes do not need to be part of every Participant’s Service Agreement. The Rates Agreement Document provides a space to capture whether or not advanced case notes are required.

Advanced/thorough case notes take more time to write:

• Generally Helpers will write case notes during a shift or at then end of a shift
• If there is no opportunity to take case notes during a shift, Helpers will write them as soon as possible after a shift
• Where case notes are written outside of shift times, the time spent writing these notes is added to the end of a shift
  • Case notes in this scenario are billed as though that shift extended to cover the time spent taking case notes