A method for detecting the status of a caregiver with respect to one or more patients or detecting possible caregiver impairment includes monitoring an environmental aspect of the patient. The monitored environmental aspect is at least one of caregiver physical activity, caregiver physiological state, and patient surroundings. The method assesses conformance/nonconformance of each monitored aspect relative to a specified norm for that aspect. If the assessment of conformance/nonconformance indicates an intuitive concern of the caregiver or a possible impairment of the caregiver, the method issues a signal to a destination which indicates the possible concern or impairment. A system for carrying out the method includes a sensing subsystem, a processor, and machine readable instructions. The machine readable instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the system to identify, in response to information sensed by the sensing subsystem, the possibility of caregiver concern or impairment.