How to Write a Home Caregiver Shift Handoff (No PHI)
Caregiver handoffs fail when the model copies a chart. It keeps a last name, a DOB, a med list, and an MRN from a paste, then invents a missed dose time to look complete. That is PHI in a chat window. The job is a shift handoff with roles and household tasks, identifiers stripped, a not-medical-advice banner, and NOT IN INPUTS on any clinical field you did not mean to share.
The matching generator is the Home Caregiver Shift Handoff (No PHI) prompt. Browse related cards in the PromptDig library (Browse more prompts). When a filled run survives, share the version you actually use (Share a prompt).
Strip identifiers first. Then write the shift.
Situation: household roles (Client, Caregiver A, Caregiver B, Family), shift length if named. Facts: tasks that happened (meals offered, walks, mood in non-clinical words), supplies that ran low. Constraints: what this role is allowed to do. Safety: fall risk as a household note if you said "needs a hand on stairs," not a diagnosis. Banner: not medical advice, no PHI. Prefs: short bullets.
Do not paste MRNs, full names, DOB, addresses, phone numbers, or insurance IDs into the model. If they are in a note, replace with roles before you run. If the model echoes them, the card failed.
The artifact is a task handoff, not a chart
The generator should emit: shift window, what was done, what is left, supplies, mood in ordinary words, questions for Family, and a not-medical-advice banner.
Do not invent:
- Diagnoses
- Med names, doses, or times
- Vitals
- Wound descriptions as treatment plans
- "Give 5 mg at 21:00"
- Hospital names
- Next appointment dates unless Facts named one without identifiers
If Facts say "evening meds were already given by Family before shift," the handoff can say "Family reported evening meds done" without naming the drug. If meds were not in Facts, the meds line is NOT IN INPUTS, not a guessed list.
De-identify. Use Client, not a name. Not medical advice. Not a care plan. Not a HIPAA form.
Contingencies: escalate without diagnosing
If Safety said "call Family if Client will not eat," that contingency may appear. Do not add "call 911 for chest pain" unless Safety named that protocol. Do not invent on-call clinician numbers.
Gaps: missing shift times, missing what was actually done, missing supply list, missing who to call (role only), missing whether meds are in or out of scope for this handoff. Five bullets.
A worked pass: kitchen and stairs, no chart
Situation: evening shift, Caregiver B relieving Caregiver A. Facts: lunch eaten, afternoon walk around the block, stairs needed a hand, milk low. Constraints: this role does not handle meds. Safety: hand on stairs. Banner: no PHI, not medical advice.
Handoff: walk done, stairs assistance used, milk low, meds out of scope (NOT IN INPUTS). Client not named. No DOB. Contingency: if stairs feel unsafe, call Family, which was in Safety, not a clinic.
If the model adds a med list and a BP of 130/80, throw the note away. If it adds a last name "for clarity," throw it away. The next caregiver needs the kitchen and the stairs, not a miniature medical record.
Fill the card, then run
Replace names with roles before you paste. List tasks and supplies only. Keep meds out unless Family already stated a non-identifying note.
Household / situation: [Situation]
Facts and numbers I have: [Facts]
Constraints: [Constraints]
Safety notes: [Safety]
Not-advice needs: [Banner]
Preferences: [Prefs]
A handoff is a household baton, not a chart copy. When a run keeps roles, skips meds, and prints a not-medical-advice banner, share that filled card.