A Life Care Plan is a document which details the cost of current and future medical needs associated with a chronic disease and/or with an injury. According to the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals (2017), a Life Care Plan "is a dynamic document-based upon published standards of practice, comprehensive assessment, data analysis, and research, which provides an organized, concise plan for current and future needs with associated costs for individuals who have experienced catastrophic injury or have chronic health care needs”.
In a judicial setting, a Life Care Plan is used as an official description of a health plan related to a disability/injury to justify the costs to various stakeholders (e.g. insurance company). It can also be used to help individuals and their families to manage their healthcare in order to regulate and organize the appropriate resources and services needed.
It is a plan that can help you manage your long-term rehabilitation and medical needs. It will serve you by providing peace of mind while helping to manage and address the impact of your disability on your daily life.
Life Care Planners are not able to ‘predict’ future events; however we will base our plan off your rehabilitation and medical history, your current clinical profile, our clinical judgement and latest research. We aim to understand your current needs in order to recommend a personalized long-term plan (e.g. services, strategies).
- A review of your file and the referral made by your lawyer or your healthcare provider (e.g. medical doctor).
- An interview to determine current and past needs and activities.
- A functional assessment which evaluates your skills and capacities in carrying out self-care and leisure activities as well as other daily tasks (e.g. financial management, community transportation) during a home visit. This component is performed by an Occupational Therapist that may or may not be the Life Care Planner.
- Consultations with other specialists regarding your medical file (psychologists, nurses, doctors) to further understand the care needed.
- A needs analysis to determine the care required, and its associated costs, to return as close as possible to your pre-accident condition (e.g. care, medication, equipment, supplies and other needs) .
- A final report redaction of the Life Care Plan to be sent to you and to the referring party.
Keep in mind that the Life Care Planner is there to help establish a plan that will support you physically and emotionally. Therefore, full disclosure is important. As such, we will ask for:
- Your consent for a home visit.
- Your consent to send the Life Care Plan report to the referring party.
- Your description of a typical day in your life, including your activities and routines.
- Your description of how your injury/illness has affected your daily life using concrete examples (e.g. back pain affects my sleeping schedule).
- Your description of your medication, including when and how often you take them.
Certified Life Care Planners can be a diverse group of healthcare professionals which includes nurses, rehabilitation counselors, occupational therapists, physical therapists, social workers, physicians, and psychologists. Programs are offered which provide 120 hours of specialized training to obtain the certification.
Prepared by Laurence Quintal, Anne Nguyen-Doan and Viktor Baltov, Masters Students in Occupational Therapy