A map of the work
Tug’s Tech Deck
Less to carry. More room to care.
Find practical help for the everyday work of caregiving. Each part of the boat is one kind of work, with a first step you can take this week and the Tugboat tools and reading that already help.
Free to start. You get a summary and where to begin at no cost. The full plan, what is worth it next, what to skip and the bottom line, comes with Tugboat membership at $9.99 a month.
How to read the labels. A free tool costs nothing to use. Free to start means you can begin at no cost, and the full version comes with membership. Guides, Perspectives, Verdicts and price data are reading. Tugboat never pays a bill, handles medication, answers an alert or acts for you, and every card names the person who should check the result.
1. Ship’s Office
Bills and paperwork
The mail piles up, a bill gets paid twice or not at all, and nobody can find the insurance card when the clinic asks for it.
A first step
Sit down together and list every account, who sends the bill and when it is due. Keep that list in one place you can both find.
On Tugboat now
- GuidePOA, Medicare, and the paperwork that can’t wait
- Free to startAppeals, when Medicare or insurance says no
- PerspectiveDon’t Make It Easy for Them
- PerspectiveA Familiar Voice Is No Longer Proof
Who checks the outcome
The person whose name is on the account, or whoever holds power of attorney. Read the statements before anything is set to pay itself.
Back to the compartments2. Galley
Food and groceries
The fridge holds three of the same thing and nothing for dinner, and someone who always cooked has started skipping meals.
A first step
Ask what they still enjoy making or ordering, then try one standing grocery order or one week of meal delivery.
On Tugboat now
- Free toolFind Help, local meal programs near you
- VerdictCallie Care, groceries and errands ordered by phone
Who checks the outcome
The person who eats the food. Then you, after the first delivery, looking at what arrived and what got eaten.
Back to the compartments3. Medicine Cabinet
Medication routines
The medication list keeps growing, and nobody is sure whether this morning’s dose was taken.
A first step
Put every medication on one written list with the dose, the time, the reason and the prescriber, then ask the pharmacist to review it.
On Tugboat now
- GuideMeds, mobility, and dementia behaviors
- VerdictHero pill dispenser
- VerdictMedMinder
- Free toolAppointment Prep, questions for the next visit
Who checks the outcome
The pharmacist and the prescribing doctor. A dispenser can remind and send an alert, it never decides a dose.
Back to the compartments4. Lookout
Safety and reassurance
You lie awake wondering whether a fall would be found in time, or whether a walk could end with someone lost.
A first step
Walk the home together looking for loose rugs, dark hallways and missing grab bars, and fix the cheap things first.
On Tugboat now
- VerdictMedical alert with fall detection
- VerdictGPS locator for wandering
- VerdictRadar monitoring, no camera, no wearable
- Price dataCaregiving Tech Price Index
Who checks the outcome
The person being looked after, who should agree to any sensor or tracker, and the person or response center who will actually answer the alert. Tugboat never watches for emergencies.
Back to the compartments5. Radio Room
Staying connected
Days go by without a real conversation, and the phone calls have turned into checklists.
A first step
Set one regular call time they look forward to, and keep that call about them rather than about tasks.
On Tugboat now
- VerdictAto, a screen free voice companion
- VerdictElliQ
- PerspectiveThe Companion That Never Calls Your Daughter
- PerspectiveOn teaching loved ones to use AI
Who checks the outcome
The person on the other end of the call. Ask them, not the device, whether they feel less alone.
Back to the compartments6. Chart Table
Understand and prepare
A diagnosis, a discharge letter or a portal message arrives, and you are not sure what it means or what to ask.
A first step
Before the next appointment, write down the three questions that matter most, and ask the person you care for what they want to know.
On Tugboat now
- Free toolAppointment Prep
- Free toolCaregiver Navigator, your first three moves
- GuideWhat the diagnosis really means
- PerspectiveWhose records are they
Who checks the outcome
Their doctor, nurse or care team. A tool can help you shape the questions, the people who know the patient answer them.
Back to the compartments7. Engine Room
Approved tasks
The same reminders, refills and renewals eat the week, one small task at a time.
A first step
Pick one repeating task you both agree a machine could take on, such as a refill reminder, and check it by hand for the first month.
On Tugboat now
- Free to startTech Plan, where to start for your situation
- PerspectiveAsk us the same questions
- PerspectiveThe Consent Gap Isn’t About Data
Who checks the outcome
You and the person you care for, together. Approve each task before it runs and look over what it did on a set day each week.
Back to the compartments8. Crew Board
Who does what
One person carries everything, while siblings, friends and neighbors would help if someone told them how.
A first step
Write down everyone who helps now, friends and neighbors included, and give each person one clear job.
On Tugboat now
- GuideWhen and how to get help
- PerspectiveThe Friends Nobody Wrote Down
- PerspectiveThe phone is the job
- Free to startCare Graph, key people and documents in one record
Who checks the outcome
The whole crew, the person receiving care included, at a short regular check in.
Back to the compartmentsReady to pick where to start?
The Tech Plan asks about your situation and your budget and tells you what to set up first.
Free to start. You get a summary and where to begin at no cost. The full plan, what is worth it next, what to skip and the bottom line, comes with Tugboat membership at $9.99 a month.
Build my Tech Plan