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A
Life Care Plan is a tool used for the purpose of estimating medical and non
medical costs of the person with a catastrophic injury.
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It
should serve as a “road map” or guide that follows the client throughout a
lifetime to assure funds will be available to properly care for him or her.
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The
Life Care Plan addresses the person as a whole using a team approach of the
various health care providers involved in each particular case.
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It
is a dynamic document subject to ongoing updates to reflect the individual
client’s changing needs.
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A
Life Care Plan does not generalize the injury but identifies the medical
needs based on the circumstances of each individual as well as potential
complications.
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The
Life Care Plan addresses and projects the costs and frequency of needed
goods and services over an estimated lifespan of current and future medical
care needs.
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It
is an innovative and comprehensive multi-disciplinary approach that
systemically documents the needs of the injured person and puts a dollar
amount to the case.
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The
Life Care Plan may include growth and development, culture and religion,
family health history, information gathered by other health team members,
ability to perform daily activities, environmental factors and patterns of
coping and interacting.
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The
Life Care Plan is based on the assessment of the health status, establishing
goals, and planning care as defined in the Nurse Practice Act.
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The
costs included in the Life Care Plan are based on current dollars and are
obtained through interviews with suppliers, facilities, pharmacies and other
health care providers.
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The
costs do not reflect inflationary trends of the health care industry.
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Allowances for inflation and any medical care trends should be determined by
an economist.
