Linking a Caregiver to a Patient

This page covers the full caregiver linking flow -- generating the invitation as the patient, accepting it as the caregiver, and configuring permissions.

If you're new to the caregiver model, read the Caregivers Overview first.

Known gaps -- being addressed in issue #521:

• Email-based invitations are not yet supported. The platform doesn't have SMTP configured today, so invitation codes are shared manually. Cloud / public deployments will eventually want SMTP for a polished invite-by-email flow.
• Self-signup is always enabled. There's no admin setting today to disable the public signup endpoint, which means anyone who reaches your platform's URL can create an account. For cloud / public deployments, this is a security concern until the disable-signup setting lands. For now: only run a publicly-reachable deployment with people you trust on your network, or accept the risk consciously.

Both are tracked in issue #521. The workarounds described on this page are the official offline / no-SMTP path until those land.

Both the patient and the caregiver use the same GlycemicGPT platform. The caregiver is a regular GlycemicGPT user account on your platform; what makes them a caregiver is the link between their account and yours. They sign in at the same URL you do.

If the patient is a child or a dependent you manage

The most common caregiver scenario is a parent (or other primary caregiver) running GlycemicGPT for a child with type 1 diabetes. The page below describes a flow with two separate adults each with their own account, but if the patient is a minor or someone whose care you manage, you'll typically hold both accounts yourself:

• The patient account is the one whose dashboard shows the child's data. Set this up first using the child's name (or whatever label you prefer). This account "owns" the data on the platform.
• The caregiver account is yours -- a separate account that's linked to the patient account. This is the one you sign in to day-to-day; it's also the one that receives escalated alerts and can be granted to other family members later (other parent, grandparent, school nurse).

The flow:

1. Sign up for the platform once with the patient details. Get the dashboard working, pump connected, AI configured. (This is the Get Started guide.)
2. From that account, go to Settings → Caregivers and follow the Patient side steps below to generate an invitation for yourself.
3. Sign out, sign back up as a new account using your own email. (You can also use a different browser or an incognito window to avoid signing out repeatedly.)
4. Follow the Caregiver side steps below to accept the invitation under your new account.

You now have two accounts on your platform: the patient account (rarely used directly) and your caregiver account (used daily). To add another family member as an additional caregiver, sign back in to the patient account and generate a new invitation for them. You can have as many caregivers as you want.

This same pattern works for any "I'm running this on behalf of someone else" situation: an adult child managing a parent's diabetes, a spouse managing the other spouse's data, etc.

Patient side: generating an invitation

These steps are done by the patient in their own dashboard.

1. Go to caregiver settings

In the dashboard, Settings → Caregivers.

If this is your first caregiver, you'll see an empty list with a Invite caregiver button. If you already have caregivers, the existing list shows here.

2. Click "Invite caregiver"

A simple form appears. You give the invitation a label (so you remember who it's for -- "Mom," "school nurse," etc.) and the platform generates a one-time invitation code. The code is valid for 7 days; if the caregiver doesn't accept it in that window, you'll need to generate a new one.

Note: today the invitation form does not let you pre-set the caregiver's permissions. Permissions are configured after the caregiver accepts and the link is established (Step 6 below). The caregiver-onboarding overhaul tracked in issue #521 will eventually allow setting permissions during invitation.

3. The invitation code is generated

The platform produces a one-time-use code -- a long random string -- as soon as you confirm the invitation.

4. Share the code

Send the invitation code to your caregiver via whatever channel you trust:

• Text message
• Email
• In person
• A secure messaging app

The code by itself doesn't grant access -- it has to be paired with the caregiver creating an account on your platform.

Treat the invitation code like a temporary password. Anyone who has both the code AND your platform's URL can create a caregiver account linked to you. Don't post it publicly.

5. Wait for the caregiver to accept

You'll see the invitation status in Settings → Caregivers:

• Pending -- the code has been generated but not yet used
• Active -- the caregiver has registered and the link is live
• Expired -- 7 days passed without use

You can revoke a pending invitation at any time -- click it and choose Cancel invitation.

6. Configure permissions (after the caregiver accepts)

Once the link is Active, click the caregiver in Settings → Caregivers to set what they can see:

• View glucose / history / IoB (read-only data access)
• Receive escalated alerts -- they get notifications when you don't acknowledge in time
• View AI suggestions (reserved permission today; the AI-as-caregiver flow is on the roadmap)

You can change these at any time without re-inviting them.

Per-caregiver brief sharing is a planned permission toggle but not in today's UI; once the caregiver-onboarding overhaul (issue #521) lands, briefs will be a separately-toggled permission.

Caregiver side: accepting the invitation

These steps are done by the caregiver, with the invitation code in hand.

1. Navigate to the platform's URL

The patient should have shared this with you along with the invitation code -- something like https://glycemicgpt.example.com.

2. Sign up for an account

If this is your first time using GlycemicGPT for this patient, click Sign up and create a new account with your email and a password.

If you already have an account on this platform (because you're already a caregiver for someone else, or you also use the platform yourself), sign in with your existing credentials.

3. Accept the invitation

Once signed in, go to Settings → Caregiver Links → Accept invitation.

Paste the invitation code the patient gave you. The platform validates it and creates the link.

4. You're now a caregiver

Your dashboard shows the patient's data you have access to.

Multi-patient caregivers: the data model supports a single caregiver linked to multiple patients, but the dashboard's patient-picker UI for switching between linked patients is still on the way (tracked under issue #521). If you're a caregiver for multiple patients today, you may need to use multiple browser sessions or wait for the picker to land.

After linking: ongoing management

Patient: changing permissions

You can change a caregiver's permissions at any time without re-inviting them. Settings → Caregivers → click the caregiver → edit permissions.

Patient: revoking access

Settings → Caregivers → click the caregiver → Revoke access. The caregiver immediately loses visibility into your data; their account on the platform is preserved (in case they're a caregiver for other patients on the same platform) but the link to you is severed.

Caregiver: removing yourself

Settings → Caregiver Links → unlink from this patient. Same effect as the patient revoking you, but initiated from your side.

Common issues

"Invalid invitation code"

• You may have copied the code with extra whitespace -- try again
• The code may have expired (7-day limit) -- ask the patient for a new one
• The patient may have revoked the invitation before you used it

"User already exists"

You're trying to register with an email that's already on this platform. Sign in instead, then accept the invitation under your existing account.

"Cannot reach the platform"

Same root cause as any "dashboard won't load" -- see the patient's Troubleshooting. For a caregiver, the most common case is the patient's platform isn't running 24/7 (e.g., it's on a laptop that's currently asleep), or it's only reachable on the patient's home network.

Caregiver wants to see live data when away from the patient's home network

The patient's platform must be reachable from the internet. Either:

• The patient runs a Cloudflare Tunnel deployment (home server or VPS) -- caregiver works from anywhere
• The patient runs a VPS with Caddy + Let's Encrypt -- caregiver works from anywhere
• The patient runs only locally on their laptop -- caregiver can only see data when on the same Wi-Fi as the patient's laptop

For most caregiver use cases, an always-on deployment is essentially required.

What happens to the caregiver account if I delete my GlycemicGPT account?

The caregiver's link to you is severed (they lose access to your data). Their account on the platform persists -- if they're a caregiver for other patients on the same platform, their other links remain intact.