Family Care

Description of Family Care

What should you do if your child develops a fever, cough, vomiting, rash, sore throat or head injury? What should you do about behavioral issues, from toilet training to teaching responsibility to teenagers? These are questions that all parents have. Health problems and parenting issues can arise anytime – evenings, weekends, when you’re at work or traveling or your doctor’s office is closed.
Family Care - HSHS St. John's is designed especially for these concerns and challenges.
The Symptom Care Guides help you make smart decisions on what level of care (if any) is needed and how to provide speedy symptom relief for minor illnesses or injuries you can manage on your own.
Family Care is derived from the clinical protocols used by pediatricians and nurses in 10,000 practices and 400 nurse advice call centers in the US and Canada. They have been tested for 15 years on more than 150 million symptom calls.
The Parent Advice Messages deal with the most common behavior and wellness questions parents ask their physicians. Each topic provides a description of the issue, three to five specific recommendations to address the concern, and (often) additional resources which may be useful to your situation.
Symptom Checker Features
Easy 3-step navigation:
1. Choose the most appropriate symptom care guide
2. Use the symptom decision chart to find the recommended action
3. Follow the self care advice to make your child more comfortable
The care guide that best matches your child’s symptom can be located quickly by using the alphabetical index, body area index, or keyword search.
Content - each symptom care guide contains:
* Definition which describes the focus of the care guide so you can decide if it’s a good fit for your problem. If not, there are quick links to related guidelines.
* Decision Chart which helps determine what action is suggested based on the severity and description of your symptom. Once you have a match, simply follow the corresponding action, such as Call 911, Call Your Child’s Doctor Now, Call Your Child’s Doctor within 24 hours or Manage at Home.
* Immediate Connections to medical help, such as 911, your child’s doctor or nearby Emergency Department (ER) are available if you have phone service.
* Home Care Advice is available for any illnesses and injuries that can be treated at home. The instructions provide clear, up-to-date steps for relieving symptoms.
Extras:
* Medication and Allergy List for tracking important information about your family’s prescriptions and/or over the counter medications.
* Pediatric dosage tables by weight for common over-the-counter medications.
* Visual images to help you identify symptoms (e.g. rashes), injuries and common causes of bites & stings.
* First Aid topics and illustrations to support immediate action, if needed.
Disclaimer: The information provided with this Application is not a substitute for professional medical or behavioral advice, diagnosis or treatment; it is for informational purposes only. Talk with your healthcare provider about any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. If you think your child may have a medical emergency, call the doctor or 911 immediately. Before using Family Care, all users should read and agree with the full Disclaimer available in the application within More > Terms and Conditions.