Southwest Florida Training Institute™ Empowering Your Future Through Education

 WHAT IS A LIFE CARE PLAN?

“The 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.” (International Conference on Life Care Planning, 1998)

ROLE OF THE LIFE CARE PLANNER (Consultant not a medical treater)

In accordance with professional standards and codes of ethics for the various practitioners and clinicians who perform life care planning, the client (also known as the evaluee) is considered the person with a disability or illness who receives services.

In life care planning, the client is defined as the person who is the subject of the life care plan. In the forensic or litigation setting, the individual for whom the life care plan is being prepared is considered the evaluee because the professional involved in life care planning is acting as a consultant rather than one who provides treatment. 

References:

• Johnson, C. B., & Weed, R. O. (2013). The Life Care Planning Process. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am, 24, 403-417. 
• Barros-Bailey M, Carlisle J, Graham M, et al. Who is the client in forensics?Journal Forensic Vocational Analysis 2009;12(1):31–4.
•  May III, V., Bowman, R., & Barna, S. (Eds.). (2024). Handbook of Medical Aspects of Disability and Rehabilitation for Life Care Planning. Taylor & Francis. 
• Rutherford-Owen, T., Barros-Bailey, M., & Weed, R. O. (Eds.). (2023). Life care planning and case management across the lifespan. Taylor & Francis. 

WHO PREPARES LIFE CARE PLANS?

A certified life care planner CLCP DOES NOT need to be a medical doctor to develop a reliable, defensible, and sound life care plan. Life care plans are not created in a vaccum. 

Rehabilitation counselors (CRCs), allied health professionals (eg, occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech language pathologists, nurses, dietitians, counselors, psychologists, dentists, audiologists, Medical Doctors, DNP, PA-C, and so forth) also develop projected care based on published formats used in life care planning. Although it is important that the various participants have a rehabilitation education and relevant certification in their area of specialty before engaging in the life care planning process, this by itself is insufficient; additional education and experience are necessary. A qualified life care planner must be a collaborator, participant, and author of the life care plan. 

To address the future care needs, the life care planner collaborates with other professionals in order to develop a transdisciplinary life care plan inclusive of recommendations outside of the individual life care planner’s professional scope of practice.  No single rehabilitation or health care professional is trained to have comprehensive expertise in all areas where recommendations may be needed. Even within a profession, there are specialty and sub-specialty divisions, which may limit the life care planner’s ability to independently make all needed recommendations. www.rehabpro.org

Reliable Life Care Plans

Issues Related To Reliability

Demonstrating the reliability of life care planning as a case management tool is at the heart of validating life care planning as a specialty area of practice. Reliability is comprised of the dependability and consistency of the life care planning process to yield similar results under similar conditions. In other words, life care plans (LCPs) are reproducible. If life care planning is a reliable tool in case management and the provision of patient care, then the results of a given LCP can be consistently replicated. 

Intra-Planner Reliability

Intra-planner (a.k.a., Intra -rater, or Intra -observer) reliability provides internal consistency to the process much like “test-retest”. Intra-planner reliability attests to the consistent application of an individual life care planner's processes and the reliability of the results of that process. Given similar circumstances, the process of developing the LCP recommendations and cost estimates are the same. Certainly, similar forms and procedures would be used for collecting the information needed for similar cases. But intra-planner reliability goes beyond that type consistency.

References:

• Weed R, Berens D, editors. Life care planning and case management handbook. 3rd edition. Boca Raton (FL): St. Lucie/CRC Press; 2010.
• Riddick S, Weed R. The life care planning process for managing catastrophically impaired patients. In: Bancett S, Flarey D, editors. Case studies in nursing case management. Gaithersburg (MD):: Aspen Publishers; 1996. p. 61–91.
• Countiss, R. N. & Deutsch, P. M. (2002). The life care planner, the judge and Mr. Daubert. Journal of Life Care Planning, 1(1), 35-43. 
• Riddick-Grisham S, Deming L. Pediatric life care planning and case management. 2nd edition. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press; 2011.
• Field T, Choppa A. Admissible testimony: a content analysis of selected cases involving vocational experts with a revised clinical model for developing opinion. Athens (GA): Elliott & Fitzpatrick; 2005.
• Weed R, Berens D. Life care planning after TBI: clinical and forensic issues. In: Brain injury rehabilitation. 2nd edition. New York: Demos Medical Publishing; 2012.
• International Academy of Life Care Planners. Standards of practice for life care planners. J Life Care Plan 2006;5(3):123–9.
• Barros-Bailey M, Carlisle J, Graham M, et al. Who is the client in forensics? Journal Forensic Vocational Analysis, 2009;12(1):31–4.
• Weed R. Life care planning questions and answers. Life Care Facts 1989;1:5–6.
• Weed R. The life care planner: secretary, know-it-all, or general contractor? One person’s perspective. J Life Care Plan 2002;1:473–7.
• Certified Life Care Planner Certification. Available at: www.ichcc.org
• ICHCC Accreditation. International Commission of Health Certification.  www.ichcc.org/accreditation.html
• American Board of Vocational Experts. Available at: www.abve.net
• Certified Nurse Life Care Planner. Available at: www.aanlcp.org
• Foundation for Life Care Planning Research. Available at: www.flcpr.org
• Association of Rehabilitation Professionals. Available at: www.rehabpro.org
• American Academy of Physician Life Care Planners. (2014). Standards of practice. http: //www.aaplcp.org
• American Association of Nurse Life Care Planners. (1998). Standards of practice and the nurse life care planner. Journal of Nurse Life Care Planning, 1(1).
• American Association of Nurse Life Care Planners. (2011). Standards of practice with interpretive statements. Salt Lake City, UT.www.rehabpro.org

Standards of Practice for Life Care Planners, 4th Edition, Available at www.rehabpro.org 

18. STANDARD: The life care planner may engage in forensic applications.

PRACTICE COMPETENCIES: If the life care planner engages in practice that includes participation in legal matters, the life care planner:

a. May act as a consultant to legal proceedings related to determining care needs and costs.

b. May provide expert sworn testimony regarding work process and product.

c. Maintains records generated for the development of the life care plan for a period of time consistent with applicable requirements.

d. Seeks clarity regarding jurisdictional requirements that may affect work product.

ICHCC CLCP Candiate Handbook ichcc.org 

XIV. Legislation – These items represent the understanding of legal and policy issues affecting individuals with disabilities. a. Keep abreast of the laws, policies. and rule making affecting health care and disability-related rehabilitation service delivery. b. Apply knowledge regarding legal rules (justification for valid entries in a life care plan may vary from state to state and jurisdiction to jurisdiction).

Consultant Services – Legal System:  These items address the certified life care planner’s consultation role in providing expert opinions, deposition and witness-stand testimony for disabilityrelated cases in litigation.

j. Document how the life care plan costs can be applied to either Medicare or Workers’ Compensation benefit programs, if appropriate