Commentary and an illustration on the use of outcome data in life care planning for persons with acquired neurological injuries

This article reviews the current status of life care planning efforts and provides an illustration, in the clinical arena of acquired neurological injury. An argument could easily be made that life care planning as an applied discipline, is quite new and is only now beginning to access national data bases for plan development purposes. In many respects, life care planning is approaching a transitional period of art and science. Given the individualistic nature of the life care planning process, the process itself will unlikely embrace decisions solely based upon population statistics, mathematical models, and the like. Nonetheless, objectivity and reliability must characterize the process. This article attempts to set the stage for the transition of utilizing outcome studies and databases in the life care planning process.