Life
care planning is a prediction of the medical and medically related
needs and costs of an individual with a catastrophic condition for
the remainder of the individual’s life. A life care planner will
work with treating physicians and examine past medical records to
examine a case and recommend services, treatments, and equipment for
the patient, all in an effort to project that patient’s needs and
costs of future care.
Factors
such as aging and life expectancy are taken into consideration, as is
the patient’s support system. The overarching goals of a life care
plan are to ease the burden of the patient’s illness or injury,
foster quality of life, and address possible complications before
they happen.
Life
expectancy plays a large role in life care plans and their use. After
all, a life care plan is intended to predict medical (and other)
costs for a patient for the remainder of his or her life.
Once
a life care plan is completed—often after examining the patient and
his or her support system—it can then be used as evidence of the
patient’s projected needs.
In
medical malpractice cases, attorneys, insurance companies and
physicians will often utilize a life care planner to research and
develop a life care plan for patients with catastrophic injuries or
illnesses such as spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, severe trauma,
and brain injury. The life care plan is then used during the
litigation process.
Article Source: http://www.compensationsecrets.co.uk/