- Email: [email protected]
Maps to the future: Life care planning
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dynamic document based on published standards of practice, comprehensive assessment, data analysis, and research that provides an organized, concise plan for current and future needs with associated costs for individuals who have experienced catastrophic injury or have chronic health care needs." "This new definition reflects the maturation of the practice," says Patricia McCollom, RN, MS, CCRN, CDMS, CCM, the president and senior consultant of LifeCare Economics Ltd. and Management Consulting and Rehabilitation Services Inc., as well as CEO of the IALCP. "We believe an LCP is more than just a summary of costs or a copyrighted format for determining litigation settlements. The application of LCPs is expanding, and we're seeing the extension of the practice into many new arenas."
Life care planning encompasses all the skills and abilities required in the rehabilitation and case m a n a g e m e n t industries.
based specifically on the roles and function of case managers and rehabilitation counselors who provide this service as part of their job responsibilities.
For example, McCollom notes that life care planning is being used by insurers and reinsurance carriers to clarify potential costs and set reserves; patients and their families to specify their health care needs and identify suppliers and community resources that can meet those needs; health care facilities to measure and evaluate treatment outcomes in specific patient populations; eldercare programs to specify needs and services for individuals with chronic conditions; and schools to integrate health care needs into individual education plans for students with disabilities. "To implement these applications of life care planning, it's necessary to bring transdisciplinary practices into play," she says. "That's w h y case managers are such a good fit for life care planning."
"The CLCP credential provides individuals with a minimum foundation of experience in life care planning," says Roger O. Weed, PhD, CRC, CDMS, CCM, FNRCA, professor and coordinator of graduate rehabilitation counselor training at Georgia State University and president of Weed & Associates, a private consulting practice specializing in catastrophic rehabilitation and rehabilitation professional training in Duluth, Ga. "Life care planning encompasses all the skills and abilities required in the rehabilitation and case management industries. Certification allows these individuals to practice life care planning on a more professional level."
Although case managers have been involved in various aspects of life care planning for the past decade, the concept is expanding into an advanced practice that requires broad clinical knowledge and expertise in handling complex, catastrophic claims. In 1996, the Commission on Disability Examiner Certification (CDEC) of Richmond, Va., began offering the certified life care planner (CLCP) credential in response to the rapid growth and influence of case management in catastrophic disabilities and the expansion of managed care in modern health care. The CLCP credential is
"Initially, when the CLCP certification was introduced by the CDEC, there was some resentment toward the certification body by individuals who said they already had been practicing life care planning for years and resented the fact they now had to undergo additional training to be considered official life care planners," says Linda R. Shaw, PhD, CRC, LMHC, associate professor in the department of rehabilitation counseling at the University of Florida College of Health Professions. "Many of these initial concerns have diminished, however, as practitioners have come to recognize that the
TCM 36
January/February 1999
CDEC's main concern is that individuals who develop LCPs have the appropriate training and a standard basis of knowledge to protect patients and promote the practice in a positive light." To qualify for the CLCP examination, candidates must: Have a minimum of 120 hours of postgraduate or postspecialty degree training in life care planning and meet specific standards Be certified or licensed within their respective profession by an accredited certifying agency or appropriate regulatory body • Have a minimum of 1 year of work or professional experience in developing LCPs • Hold the entry-level academic degree or certificate/diploma for their profession The University of Florida/Intelicus offers a comprehensive life care planning certificate program and automatically qualifies an individual to sit for the CLCP examination. The program provides formal training for people seeking to become life care planners and helps students gain the ability to demonstrate a higher level of expertise and competency in developing LCPs. "This program has evolved out of our ongoing attempts to identify the issues important to teaching individuals h o w to put together an LCP and provide them with the proper qualifications and abilities to practice life care planning," says Shaw, who serves as faculty chairwoman for the certificate program. The Intelicus program aims to provide individuals seeking experience in life care planning with quality training and development and standardize and improve the practice across all catastrophic disabilities and health care problems. The IALCP also is working to promote life care planning as an advanced practice through its professional designation program. Professionals can qualify as diplomats or fellows in life care planning on meeting certain criteria, such as cotnpleting a minimum number of LCPs, 1
consulting to the courts and/or other interested parties, being recognized by a national professional organization, achieving mentor status, securing letters of recommendation from people for whom LCPs have been completed, and submitting two completed LCPs for peer review. "We're focusing on the need for collaboration and the strengthening of life care planning as a transdisciplinary practice," says the IALCP's McCollom. "Our goal is to identify the best plan of care for the patient and promote communication and collaboration with the treatment team." Sharon Reavis, RN, CRC, CCM, a partner in Health Information Resources Inc. in Richmond, Va., who qualified as both a diplomat and fellow in life care planning last year, notes, "Life care planning is still a process, not a profession. The individuals who put the plan together have a responsibility to look at the patient's needs individually and as a whole, whether they're working independently, for an insurance company or
As m o r e case m a n a g e r s get involved in the life care p l a n n i n g process, they ultimately will help create an a d v a n c e d practice and e x p a n d the scope of case m a n a g e m e n t .
"Case managers have the background to access the services and identify the resources necessary to best serve the needs of patients with complex, catastrophic injuries and disabilities," she continues, "and they know how to focus on getting the best care at the most reasonable cost in the most approl~riate setring. Life care planning today has practical everyday use and efficacy outside the litigation arena, and case managers' caseloads often encompass a number of clients w,ho have long-term care needs, which make them a natural fit for the practice. As more case managers get involved in the life care planning process, they ultimately will help us create an advanced practice and expand the scope of case management along the way." D
Mindy R. Toran is a freelance writer based in Huntingdon Valley, Pa. managed care organization, or for the defendant's or plaintiff's counsel litigating the case.
Reprint orders: Mosby, Inc., 11830 Westline Industrial Dr., St. Louis, MO 63146-3318; phone (314) 453-4350; reprint no. 6811196061
The Leaderin Neurolo cal Rehab Is Still Raising the StanBard Cost-EffectiveBrain Injury Rehabwith Proven Outcomesfor 18 Years In 1980, the Centre For Neuro Skills created the m o d e l for rehabilitation of t r a u m a t i c brain injury. In today's m a n a g e d care e n v i r o n m e n t , CNS remains the d o c u m e n t e d 1 standard, providing effective techniques that yield "proven, functional outcomes.
Providing Case Managers • • • • •
Full continuum of services from active rehab to assisted living Competitive cost structure Consistent and predictable treatment outcomes Proven expertise with difficult-to-place behavioral cases Information resources on neurological issues including CNS' award-winning web site: www.neuroskills.com/-cns . ,
C o n t r a c t e d w i t h m u l t i p l e p a y o r a n d p r o v i d e r n e t w o r k s . Clients served f r o m 47 states and 8 foreign countries.
Centre For Neuro Skills Bakersfield, CA 1-800-843-2943 • Irving, TX 1-800-554-5448
ICopies of studies published by peer reviewed
journalsareavailable uponrequest. J. . . . . y/February1999
TCM 37
m
"o I"
LIFECAREPLANNING
Z Z mm Z
dynamic document based on published standards of practice, comprehensive assessment, data analysis, and research that provides an organized, concise plan for current and future needs with associated costs for individuals who have experienced catastrophic injury or have chronic health care needs." "This new definition reflects the maturation of the practice," says Patricia McCollom, RN, MS, CCRN, CDMS, CCM, the president and senior consultant of LifeCare Economics Ltd. and Management Consulting and Rehabilitation Services Inc., as well as CEO of the IALCP. "We believe an LCP is more than just a summary of costs or a copyrighted format for determining litigation settlements. The application of LCPs is expanding, and we're seeing the extension of the practice into many new arenas."
Life care planning encompasses all the skills and abilities required in the rehabilitation and case m a n a g e m e n t industries.
based specifically on the roles and function of case managers and rehabilitation counselors who provide this service as part of their job responsibilities.
For example, McCollom notes that life care planning is being used by insurers and reinsurance carriers to clarify potential costs and set reserves; patients and their families to specify their health care needs and identify suppliers and community resources that can meet those needs; health care facilities to measure and evaluate treatment outcomes in specific patient populations; eldercare programs to specify needs and services for individuals with chronic conditions; and schools to integrate health care needs into individual education plans for students with disabilities. "To implement these applications of life care planning, it's necessary to bring transdisciplinary practices into play," she says. "That's w h y case managers are such a good fit for life care planning."
"The CLCP credential provides individuals with a minimum foundation of experience in life care planning," says Roger O. Weed, PhD, CRC, CDMS, CCM, FNRCA, professor and coordinator of graduate rehabilitation counselor training at Georgia State University and president of Weed & Associates, a private consulting practice specializing in catastrophic rehabilitation and rehabilitation professional training in Duluth, Ga. "Life care planning encompasses all the skills and abilities required in the rehabilitation and case management industries. Certification allows these individuals to practice life care planning on a more professional level."
Although case managers have been involved in various aspects of life care planning for the past decade, the concept is expanding into an advanced practice that requires broad clinical knowledge and expertise in handling complex, catastrophic claims. In 1996, the Commission on Disability Examiner Certification (CDEC) of Richmond, Va., began offering the certified life care planner (CLCP) credential in response to the rapid growth and influence of case management in catastrophic disabilities and the expansion of managed care in modern health care. The CLCP credential is
"Initially, when the CLCP certification was introduced by the CDEC, there was some resentment toward the certification body by individuals who said they already had been practicing life care planning for years and resented the fact they now had to undergo additional training to be considered official life care planners," says Linda R. Shaw, PhD, CRC, LMHC, associate professor in the department of rehabilitation counseling at the University of Florida College of Health Professions. "Many of these initial concerns have diminished, however, as practitioners have come to recognize that the
TCM 36
January/February 1999
CDEC's main concern is that individuals who develop LCPs have the appropriate training and a standard basis of knowledge to protect patients and promote the practice in a positive light." To qualify for the CLCP examination, candidates must: Have a minimum of 120 hours of postgraduate or postspecialty degree training in life care planning and meet specific standards Be certified or licensed within their respective profession by an accredited certifying agency or appropriate regulatory body • Have a minimum of 1 year of work or professional experience in developing LCPs • Hold the entry-level academic degree or certificate/diploma for their profession The University of Florida/Intelicus offers a comprehensive life care planning certificate program and automatically qualifies an individual to sit for the CLCP examination. The program provides formal training for people seeking to become life care planners and helps students gain the ability to demonstrate a higher level of expertise and competency in developing LCPs. "This program has evolved out of our ongoing attempts to identify the issues important to teaching individuals h o w to put together an LCP and provide them with the proper qualifications and abilities to practice life care planning," says Shaw, who serves as faculty chairwoman for the certificate program. The Intelicus program aims to provide individuals seeking experience in life care planning with quality training and development and standardize and improve the practice across all catastrophic disabilities and health care problems. The IALCP also is working to promote life care planning as an advanced practice through its professional designation program. Professionals can qualify as diplomats or fellows in life care planning on meeting certain criteria, such as cotnpleting a minimum number of LCPs, 1
consulting to the courts and/or other interested parties, being recognized by a national professional organization, achieving mentor status, securing letters of recommendation from people for whom LCPs have been completed, and submitting two completed LCPs for peer review. "We're focusing on the need for collaboration and the strengthening of life care planning as a transdisciplinary practice," says the IALCP's McCollom. "Our goal is to identify the best plan of care for the patient and promote communication and collaboration with the treatment team." Sharon Reavis, RN, CRC, CCM, a partner in Health Information Resources Inc. in Richmond, Va., who qualified as both a diplomat and fellow in life care planning last year, notes, "Life care planning is still a process, not a profession. The individuals who put the plan together have a responsibility to look at the patient's needs individually and as a whole, whether they're working independently, for an insurance company or
As m o r e case m a n a g e r s get involved in the life care p l a n n i n g process, they ultimately will help create an a d v a n c e d practice and e x p a n d the scope of case m a n a g e m e n t .
"Case managers have the background to access the services and identify the resources necessary to best serve the needs of patients with complex, catastrophic injuries and disabilities," she continues, "and they know how to focus on getting the best care at the most reasonable cost in the most approl~riate setring. Life care planning today has practical everyday use and efficacy outside the litigation arena, and case managers' caseloads often encompass a number of clients w,ho have long-term care needs, which make them a natural fit for the practice. As more case managers get involved in the life care planning process, they ultimately will help us create an advanced practice and expand the scope of case management along the way." D
Mindy R. Toran is a freelance writer based in Huntingdon Valley, Pa. managed care organization, or for the defendant's or plaintiff's counsel litigating the case.
Reprint orders: Mosby, Inc., 11830 Westline Industrial Dr., St. Louis, MO 63146-3318; phone (314) 453-4350; reprint no. 6811196061
The Leaderin Neurolo cal Rehab Is Still Raising the StanBard Cost-EffectiveBrain Injury Rehabwith Proven Outcomesfor 18 Years In 1980, the Centre For Neuro Skills created the m o d e l for rehabilitation of t r a u m a t i c brain injury. In today's m a n a g e d care e n v i r o n m e n t , CNS remains the d o c u m e n t e d 1 standard, providing effective techniques that yield "proven, functional outcomes.
Providing Case Managers • • • • •
Full continuum of services from active rehab to assisted living Competitive cost structure Consistent and predictable treatment outcomes Proven expertise with difficult-to-place behavioral cases Information resources on neurological issues including CNS' award-winning web site: www.neuroskills.com/-cns . ,
C o n t r a c t e d w i t h m u l t i p l e p a y o r a n d p r o v i d e r n e t w o r k s . Clients served f r o m 47 states and 8 foreign countries.
Centre For Neuro Skills Bakersfield, CA 1-800-843-2943 • Irving, TX 1-800-554-5448
ICopies of studies published by peer reviewed
journalsareavailable uponrequest. J. . . . . y/February1999
TCM 37