Seniors Living Options Assessment

How do you decide what kind of support and care I might need or whether I can stay in my own home or need to move?

Alberta Health Services uses the InterRAI Home Care (RAI-HC) Assessment instrument to measure your clinical status. This tool assists your Home Care Registered Nurse* and a team of health-care professionals to make an objective recommendation for you.

RAI-HC is used across Canada and around the world including in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia. It was developed by a panel of geriatricians and is regularly validated through ongoing review of millions of assessments each year.

This tool, along with input from your family and the professional judgment of your Home Care RN* and your team of health-care providers, helps us meet your needs in the right place. 

What does the tool measure?

The RAI-HC is designed to collect information on a broad range of physical, mental, and social abilities. It measures your strengths as well as problems or potential problems. Questions relate to:

• Activities of Daily Living functioning
• Continence (bladder and bowel control)
• Communication/hearing
• Dental status
• Depression
• Disease diagnoses
• Environment/home safety
• Falls
• Health conditions
• Medication use
• Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Self Performance
• Informal (family) support services
• Mental functions, cognition
• Mood and behaviour
• Nutrition/hydration
• Pain
• Physical abilities
• Preventive health measures
• Reliance on healthcare services
• Skin condition
• Social functioning
• Socio-demographic / background information
• Strengths
• Vision

Who does the assessment and develops my plan of care? Does my opinion count? What about my family?

A Home Care Registered Nurse* will be assigned to you. The RN will meet with you and your family. The RAI-HC Assessment team may also include physicians, physiotherapists, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals.

What happens after I have an assessment?

Once an assessment is complete and a recommendation is made regarding the right care and the right place for you, the Home Care Registered Nurse* presents the information and decision to a group of peers for input and to ensure the best decision is being made on your behalf.

Why can’t I decide? Why do I have to go through this process?

Alberta Health Services is committed to ensuring you have access to the right care in the right place. We know that placing you in a place that provides more care than you need may negatively impact your wellness and independence.

The RAI-HC Assessment tool is user-friendly and measures a range of medical, physical, and mental abilities or challenges in a single test. It’s also objective and considers many aspects of your health and personal needs. This helps the Home Care RN* to make the best recommendation regarding your care, support and living needs.

If a previous assessment has been done, comparisons are made to determine any changes in your condition.

How does it improve care?

Physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and other healthcare professionals can use your assessment to review your status to ensure continuity of care and help in ongoing management of your plan of care.

The assessment tool can help to predict or prevent complications, describe baseline conditions, measure objectives and confirm clinical judgments.

* In some parts of the province, other allied health-care professionals (i.e. physical therapists, occupational therapists, social workers) also complete assessments.