How it works
From a need to a visible outcome
CareRunner is a coordination loop, not a filing cabinet. The point is that the next person can act without starting the story again.
The same seven steps apply whether the work is a bill, a referral, a refill or a lift to an appointment — and whether it is done by a daughter, a paid concierge or a Care Runner.
One Thursday, step by step
Margaret, 78, has an eye appointment on Thursday. Her daughter Dana lives four hours away and is at work. Her neighbor Ray can drive her. The clinic needs a form signed first.
The point: nobody had to remember it, chase it, or explain it twice.
1. Something arrives
A letter, a bill, a call, an instruction after an appointment, or simply the realisation that something needs doing.
2. Context is gathered
What it appears to be, what it relates to, and what usually happens next — written in plain language rather than shorthand.
3. It becomes a task with an owner
One named person owns the next step. Unowned work is the most common way things quietly fail.
4. A person approves what matters
Anything consequential waits for someone with the right permission to approve it. Suggestions are never executed silently.
5. Updates attach to the work
Calls made, forms sent, confirmations received — recorded on the task, not scattered across inboxes and texts.
6. The handoff carries the context
When the next person picks it up, they receive the situation, the history, the owner and whatever needs attention.
7. The outcome stays visible
Completed work keeps its record, so nobody has to reconstruct what happened three months later.
A letter nobody understands
An official-looking letter arrives about a benefit review, with a deadline in it.
- 1A family member adds the letter to the circle.
- 2Rosie explains in plain language what it appears to be and what the deadline seems to require.
- 3It becomes a task, owned by the son who handles paperwork.
- 4He records the call he makes and attaches the confirmation.
Result: The deadline is met, and the next person can see exactly what was done and when.
Illustrative example. Not a real family, document or medical situation.
Instructions after an appointment
A clinician gives follow-up instructions, including a referral and a change to a routine.
- 1The family member who attended records what was asked for.
- 2Each instruction becomes its own task with a named owner.
- 3The appointment for the referral goes into the shared calendar with a reminder.
- 4The circle can see which steps are done and which are still open.
Result: Nothing depends on one person remembering the conversation a week later.
Illustrative example. Not a real family, document or medical situation.
A short errand
Something needs collecting today, and no family member is nearby.
- 1The coordinator creates a scoped errand task with clear limits.
- 2It is assigned to a Care Runner.
- 3The runner records completion.
- 4The family sees the outcome without having to chase it.
Result: A small task gets done, with an owner and a record, instead of being forgotten.
Illustrative example. Not a real family, document or medical situation.
Handing over for two weeks
The family member who usually coordinates is away.
- 1Open work already has owners and context attached.
- 2Another family member takes over the tasks that need attention.
- 3Approvals stay with the people permitted to give them.
- 4The returning coordinator reads the trail rather than being briefed.
Result: Two weeks of absence does not become two weeks of lost continuity.
Illustrative example. Not a real family, document or medical situation.
What stays, and what moves
Changes rarely, and holds the circle together.
- People
- Roles & permissions
- Preferences
- Consent
- Documents
Arrives, gets owned, gets done, and closes.
- Missions
- Appointments
- Approvals
- Errands
- Reminders
- Updates
- Every task has exactly one owner, so work does not sit in a gap.
- Access follows role and permission, so participation can be wide without being unrestricted.
- Consequential actions require human approval.
- The record travels with the work, so handoffs do not lose the thread.
See how a Care Circle would work for you
Start a circle yourself, or ask us to walk you through it.