The formal practice of Nurse Life Care Planning, which is approximately twenty-years-old, is often misunderstood by industry partners including attorneys, fiduciaries, and even professionals within rehabilitation, insurance, and health care management. For individuals suffering from a catastrophic injury or illness, a life care plan informs private fiduciaries, legal professionals and case managers of the long-term resources required for the individual’s long-term care, health, and wellness.
A life care plan is typically developed by a nurse life care planner whose primary role is to develop a client-specific lifetime plan of care utilizing the nursing process. The plan contains an organized, comprehensive, and evidence-based approach that estimates current and future healthcare needs. A life care plan also includes the associated costs and frequencies of items and services needed for care and can be applied in various sectors including private, medical-legal and case management by serving as a valuable guide.
This white paper provides an overview of nurse life care planning, as a practice, the customary components of a life care plan, and aims to articulate the vital need for a life care plan when managing a medico-legal claim of an individual who’s been catastrophically injured or ill. Any information, sample tables, or opinions within this whitepaper are purely the opinions of Medical and Life Care Consulting Services, Inc. and should not be used as legal advice, counsel, or testimony of any nature.
