Companion / Caregiver Access¶
Source: 2/18 Meeting (2026-02-18)
Priority: Tier 2 — extends reach without new content
Status: Planned
Job To Be Done¶
Caretakers need equipment guidance because patients are too anxious or medicated to absorb instructions post-op. The caretaker is often the real equipment operator.
"A companion app makes complete sense. If you had a total knee and your wife is on a companion, she's nudging you to making sure you're doing your shit right." — 2/18 Meeting
"So the companions, the companion, it's the daughter. Yeah, mom's not gonna get this. She's not gonna, and so it's on her phone, right?" — 2/18 Meeting
Pain¶
- Post-op patients can't retain DME setup instructions — anesthesia, pain medication, and anxiety interfere
- Caretakers receive the same instructions as patients but in a rushed handoff at delivery
- No way for caretakers to reference equipment guidance later
Value¶
Same content as the patient experience, different framing. No new content creation required.
"As a login, just, it's really just a framing. Hey, as caretaker, blah blah blah, same content, exact same thing." — 2/18 Meeting
"It's basically another role in the care team pretty much. It's just, but we didn't even specifically define role, but we didn't even know that that existed when we walked in." — 2/18 Meeting
Requirements¶
Prehab timing for equipment education¶
Equipment education delivered before surgery has dramatically higher retention. Before the amygdala fires, patients and caretakers can absorb and plan. After surgery, it's survival mode.
"A TKA patient is basically: medicated, inflamed, scared to move, sleep deprived, cognitively overloaded. So every device becomes a decision burden." — Jeff's research
Time-limited access¶
Caretaker access expires after the recovery period. Not a permanent account — a temporary role tied to the patient's healing journey.
Same content, different framing¶
The caretaker sees: - Equipment setup and daily usage instructions - Troubleshooting guidance (same as chat agent) - Care plan reminders (when to do CPM, cold therapy, etc.) - What's normal vs. what needs attention
No new content authoring¶
This feature succeeds specifically because it reuses the equipment knowledge base built for the chat agent and care plan.
Connection to Doctor-Side Companion App¶
The doctor-side roadmap has a deferred companion app (see doctor roadmap — companion-app-deferred.md). The DME caregiver access is the equipment-specific slice of the same concept.
When the full companion app ships, DME caregiver access becomes one view within it — alongside clinical guidance from the doctor side and exercise guidance from the PT side.