Life Care Plan Engagement Process

Scope, conflicts and the retainer are settled in a written engagement agreement, together with the deadlines the plan must meet. The agreement names which of the three engagements is retained, a new plan, a review of an opposing plan or a narrower future medical cost projection, because the records, the hours and the deliverable differ between them; the plan versus projection comparison shows where each fits.

The complete medical record and imaging, with treating provider information and the current clinical status, since the chronology of diagnoses, treatment and status is the plan's foundation. Any plan, cost projection or medical opinion already served in the case, so the review scope can be set. And a note of whether an interview, a home visit or physician collaboration is expected, with the disclosure deadline.

No. The interview with the evaluee and family, and coordination with treating providers, are scheduled when appropriate, after the record has been read and the chronology built. They document functional status and ongoing needs the record alone may not show. A review of an opposing plan or a narrower cost projection can proceed on the record, and the choice is made at scoping.

A written plan itemized across the care categories, with the clinical basis, frequency, duration and geographically matched cost of every line, prepared to published life care planning standards and to the admissibility and disclosure standards of the forum. Its annual totals are set out so a forensic economist can reduce them to present value, and the plan is updated as the clinical picture or the records change.

Yes. The review engagement reads the served plan line by line and reports, item by item, whether physician support exists where the item is medical, whether the frequency and duration have a basis in the literature and the treating recommendations, whether the price came from the right region, and whether the totals add up. The costliest lines get the closest reading: attendant care, specialized equipment and residential placement.

The life care planners on the roster: Christina Rivera, a registered nurse who applies clinical nursing experience to future care cost projections; Paul Bourgeois, a certified life care planner who develops plans for catastrophic injury and chronic conditions; and Jesse Wolstein, a board-certified emergency medicine physician and certified life care planner. Items within the scope of medical practice require physician support; the leadership team includes a board-certified physician holding the life care planning credential.