Thursday, November 15, 2012

Life Care Plans: Essential for Improving Quality of Life and Increasing Recovery





Life Care Plans: Essential for Improving Quality of Life and Increasing Recovery


A Life Care Plan is a road map for care, describing anticipated medical and non-medical needs, with associated costs, of a person with a catastrophic injury or chronic illness over an estimated life span. It is based on standards of practice, comprehensive assessment, collaboration with all medical professionals, and analysis of medical records.

Life Care Planners help patients who have suffered catastrophic injuries and illnesses, advocate for them, and plan out their care. Nurse Life Care Planners work with a patient's family, insurance company, attorneys, and others to develop a life care plan, determining the future needs, services, and costs of care for the patient over their lifetime. Many Nurse Life Care Planners work independently from the hospital system, acting as a consultant for businesses, families, or courts of law. Because of life care plans, patients’ caregivers know how often they need to schedule appointments, what to expect in terms of rehabilitation, and what the course of medical care will look like.

Life Care Planners are professional registered nurses with education and expertise in preparing and reviewing Life Care Plans, including medical record review, research, legal aspects, and particular course content on catastrophic or chronic conditions. Registered nurses base our independent practices on the nursing process and nursing diagnosis.

Life Care Planners will provide the appropriate documentation to support the medical services, supplies, and equipment that injured party will need for a reasonable quality of life in relationship to their injuries. Expert witnessing is provided for each case.

The Life Care Planner who prepared this article has over ten years of experience with the medical and vocational case management fields. She holds a college degree in Nursing with additional certifications as a Life Care Planner, Certified Case Manager, and Certified Professional in Utilization Review. She has provided expert witness testimony in cases concerning home safety because of her experience being a home nurse case manager and Director of Performance Improvement. She began her career as a pediatric intensive care nurse and then switched to geriatric nursing. Being a nurse helped her learn how to care for the patient as a whole. She then worked at a home health agency, where it was her responsibility to diversify the company by opening a worker’s compensation case management company. This helped her to understand the impact of nurses in the litigation settlement process as well as learn more about determining the future cost of care in catastrophic cases. As her career has advanced, her knowledge and talents have enabled her to become a teacher, trainer, and mentor. She also provides services as a consultant and expert witness.


This medical malpractice article was written by an expert witness working with American Medical Experts, LLC (AME). AME is the nation’s leading source of medical experts for case review and testimony; AME also offers the lowest flat rate fees on Complete Case Reviews ($695) and Expert Witness Reports ($995). For more information, call 888-678-EXPERTS (888-678-3973) or visit AmericanMedicalExperts.com.

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