Monday, December 21, 2015

Life Care Planning And The Benefits

By Raymond Foster


A new program is now available for individuals effected by catastrophic disabilities due to injury or illness. The program known as life care planning often involves more action, research, and thought than other similar plans. Advanced directives, living wills and others tend to focus on end of life issues. Whereas, these new professionals and programs work with clients on an ongoing basis.

Each client works with a professional which establishes an evaluation to determine the severity of the disability or illness. Consideration given to clients in this type planning is quite intensive and relates to goals, needs and interests. Some clients may have multiple plans as each disability often requires a different set of components as clients age and progress.

Whether suffering one, or multiple disabilities, clients often work with more than one professional. Working with different providers is often common when it comes to these life based care programs. Whether due to age, changes in lifestyle, ill-health, or the resignation or retirement of a professional, there can be a number of different reasons for these changes over time.

Individuals can benefit in a number of ways from these type programs. Being a system akin to case management, various tools can be used for ongoing consultation with clients, families and professionals. In most cases, this type planning is something that will be needed on a life long basis. Some of these tools include conference calling, internet research, telephone contact, video-conferencing and information sharing.

It can often be a lot to remember when one has to schedule ongoing medical visits, physical therapy sessions and psychological counseling. One of the best features of these type programs is that the professional in charge of the client works to set reminders and get the client to various appointments on time. These features along with helping the individual set up a strong support network are some of the best these programs have to offer.

Each client often has different needs based on the type of disability or disabilities one is dealing with at the time. As such, while most programs are consistent when it comes to setting up and completing an evaluation and developing a profile, there are often different options for support or treatment.

Every client basically goes through the same process and sequence when signing up for long term planning program. The sequence includes projections of future evaluations, modalities, future medical care, physical therapy, psychological counseling, rehabilitation, strength testing and others. Food and transportation can also be part of this type program if the individual does not own, or can not operate a motor vehicle due to the nature of the disability.

Ultimately, it is up to each individual to determine whether or not this type program may be appropriate. Individuals living alone with a catastrophic disability, injury or illness often find these type programs comforting and helpful in managing ongoing medical needs. Whereas, as some programs contain a great deal of future planning, even those with limited disabilities can often still benefit from these type programs.




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