The Career Of A Life Care Planner

Not all medical professionals work directly on treating a patient’s injury or illness. Some ensure that the future of debilitated individuals is of the highest quality possible. 

How? 

With life care planning.

Certain injuries or illnesses may leave a person in need of lifelong medical care. These individuals require the help of a medical professional such as a life care planner to produce a comprehensive healthcare plan that outlines the needs and cost of their treatment.

Here’s what a life care planner does, what their credentials are, and what kind of training is required to become one.

What Is Life Care Planning?

Thankfully, most people need short-term medical attention, but there are some who require long-term medical care due to different kinds of crippling issues. This includes catastrophic injuries like spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries, as well as debilitating illnesses such as paralysis, diabetes, or mental health disorders.

The long-term needs of such individuals are outlined in the life care plan, which is a dynamic document based on standards of practice, assessment, research, and data analysis. It provides a concise framework for current and future medical needs and the associated medical costs for individuals suffering from chronic health issues or having lasting effects from injuries.

The professional performing this task is a life care planner whose task is to evaluate individuals with chronic health concerns and outline the needs created by the disability. They research everything from items and services that the patient needs to their current and future medical costs.

All of these aspects require a certified professional who possesses the knowledge of the nuances of healthcare requirements and the ability to anticipate any progressions of the medical issues at hand.

This is a completely different game than coordinating and planning short-term care as a life care planner may be responsible for creating a care plan that covers a few months, years, or in extreme cases, the rest of the patient’s life.

The life care plan in question is based on different factors such as the severity of the injury or the illness, along with the wishes, abilities, and needs of the patient and their family. 

Since every situation is different and the effects of medical ailments are never the same, life care plans are never identical and are often completely custom.

The Role Of The Life Care Planner

This job is nuanced and dynamic, so these professionals need to possess the necessary interpersonal skills to properly communicate with both the patient and the family about their requirements. 

Since their role dictates that they have to create a safe and comfortable plan for the patient, the life care planner has to be familiar with the treatment for different ailments in combination with the abilities of the patient. This usually requires a high level of decision-making skills as life care plans might sometimes require adjustments.

A life care planner may start by assessing the patient and their diagnoses, which helps inform what type of care they’ll require in the future. As such, this job entails studying medical records and interviewing physicians, patients, and their family members. 

This all helps determine the proper care of the patient and what they can do financially and physically.

Because the life care plan has to meet the needs for long-term care, it should contain the types of treatments the patient will go through, the physicians who will provide medical care, as well as the financial details of the medical care. 

Medical care in the US is expensive, hence, it stands to reason a patient or their family might not be able to finance it. This is why life care planners are so important, as they work directly with government agencies and insurance companies to help pay for long-term medical treatment. They might advocate for their disabled patients in these situations to get the necessary funds for care.

The Research Process

A life care planner has a lot of responsibilities, but the main one is completing a diligent research process. Not only do they consult doctors, but they may also research different treatment options such as experimental and alternative medicine if a particular patient is open to unconventional medicine.

However, this is not to say that life care planning only includes consultations. The foundation of these plans comes from different sources such as case management, medical, rehabilitation, and psychological sources derived from clinical research, records, and medical literature.

Thus, a person creating the life care plan scours through a myriad of disability and medical journals to establish a medical foundation for the treatment. They may:

1. Draw a direct link between the recommendations in the plan and medical records.

2. Consult with different medical professionals to answer questions not present in the existing medical records.

3. Consult specialists

4. Employ clinical practice guidelines

To institute a rehabilitation foundation, the process is pretty much the same with the addition of using supplementary research literature. The same applies to case management and establishing a psychological foundation which might include communication with the case manager.

Life Care Planning Education

These professionals come from different medical and rehabilitation backgrounds. For example, nurses, occupational therapists, counselors, physical therapists, social workers, psychologists, and physicians.

Since this is a transdisciplinary practice performed by different professionals, the undergraduate or graduate training programs are specific to each discipline. Nevertheless, some programs provide training aimed specifically at life care planning.

Postgraduate programs are easy to find - the University of Florida offers a life care planning certificate.

Employment Prospects

Life care plans are used in litigation and leveraged by case managers, trust officers, discharge planners, as well as families. Because the use cases are quite plentiful, many people are drawn to this calling. While it’s impossible to determine the exact number of professionals in this field, the number is constantly increasing.

Life care planners may work for different types of companies such as insurance companies and their salaries depend on their companies. However, independent planners charge an hourly rate that depends on the professional reputation, location, and quality of work itself.

Life care planners often earn a higher salary than the national average at around $75k per year on average.

A Noble Calling

By getting into this field, you can help disabled or ill individuals and their families get peace of mind and make sure that their loved one is taken care of. It’s a noble and fulfilling profession for those that want to make a difference in other people’s lives.

Bear in mind that putting together life care plans does take a lot of work and patience. You also have to be emotionally prepared to work firsthand with grief-stricken families and individuals with varying levels of disability or ailment.

It’s also important to note that your success in the field depends on not only your knowledge but your communication skills. Additionally, you have to be a master at networking since life care planners usually need to build a lot of relationships if they’re to have a steady stream of clients.