Individual Health Care Plans (IHPs) are a standardized tool for documentation and communication among staff, families, and health care providers. They also support and document medication training and are a reference for staff responsible for the day-to-day care of the child.

Tips and Strategies for IHPs

• Gather the components for each IHP, including:
  • Child’s name
  • Parent’s or legal guardian’s contact information
  • Diagnosis or medical conditions
  • Contact information of the health care professionals and specialists
  • Accommodations
  • Medications
  • Signs and symptoms that an emergency medication or medication that is only given as needed should be administered
  • Other instructions and information from the family and health care professionals
  • Community resources (e.g., an asthma program with information and instructional videos)
  • Emergency plan
  • List of staff trained to administer the medication
• Develop an IHP for each child needing a medication.
• Collaborate with the child’s family and health care professionals when developing the IHP.
• Update the IHP at least annually, or more often if the medications or administration instructions change.

Collaborating with Families on IHPs

As their child’s primary care giver, families are usually the first source of information on their child’s health condition and medication, including schedules and routines. They are familiar with what works and doesn’t work when administering medication to their child. This collaboration supports successful medication administration both at home and at school and supports skills and confidence for both the staff and family. Involving the family also alerts the staff to any other support, training, or referrals the family may need for their child’s health condition or medications.

Tips and Strategies for Collaborating with Families

• Involve the family when developing an IHP, especially getting their input on how to administer the medication. For example, you can ask for their tips or special routines, such as singing a song; or if the medication is administered with food, you can ask what works best. This keeps up successful routines at both home and school.
• Make sure similar routines are kept up at home and school.

Last Updated: October 30, 2023