Establishing a Basis for Supportive Care Recommendations in a Life Care Plan Utilizing the Observed and Objective Measures of Physical Function Algorithm (OOMPFA)

Life care plans are expert reports often relied upon in litigation matters to identify future costs associated with functional impairments. Life care plans can be challenged if the basis for recommendations contained in the report are not supported with defensible evidence. This article aims to educate the life care planner as to valuable empirical information that can be gained during the evaluation process to support life care planning recommendations and to decipher the meaning of objective measures noted in medical records. Appropriate tools and methods for obtaining objective measures of physical function are discussed as a review for those qualified to use them, and as a means of interpreting test results in medical records for those not qualified to perform testing. Examples of utilizing observational methods when tools are not available or appropriate for objective physical measurements are considered as a basis for recommendations. Concerns regarding video conferencing when trying to obtain empirical information are also addressed. The Observed and Objective Measures of Physical Function Algorithm (OOMPFA) is proposed as a tool to gather observed and objective physical information as a basis for providing supporting care recommendations within a life care plan.