Ensure your plans follow best practice and audit the plans from your service.
You and/or your service manager may be involved in evaluating plan quality for professional development purposes. The following questions can be used as a checklist of things to consider when evaluating plan quality.
- Is the plan person-centred?
Does the plan reflect the person’s choices, priorities and ownership? Is their engagement evident across the goals, steps and actions in the plan? - Are the goals meaningful to the person – even if assigned goals are used?
Do the goals relate to the person’s life roles and expressed priorities and preferences for rehabilitation? Do the goals relate to the person’s own circumstances even if they are not yet ready, or do not wish to be, involved in plan development? - Does the plan appropriately include body function, activity and/or participation level goals?
Is the selection of goal-type appropriate for the expected length and type of rehabilitation program the person is likely to require? Where a life-changing injury or illness has occurred, has the person been assisted to identify longer term aspirations, presented as participation-level goals? - Is the described desired outcome specific?
Can change be observed? Are responsibilities for actions clear? - Is the goal measurable?
Can everyone recognise when the goal has been achieved? - Is the goal and/or steps achievable?
Has the person been supported to identify realistic and achievable goals? If the goals are not yet achievable, does the plan include achievable steps? Will the outcomes provide an opportunity for the person to re-evaluate their goals? - Are the actions and strategies relevant to the goals and aspirations?
Does the plan define the reasonable actions the person will take to achieve their goals? Does it also describe what members of the treating team will be doing to promote goal achievement? - Does the plan include a reasonable time frame for assessing the outcomes?
Have the steps been assigned an approximate time frame to expect results? - Is there evidence of effective teamwork and engagement of the person’s significant others?
Is it clear in the plan how team members will work together on shared goals? Has the family been appropriately incorporated into actions and strategies? - Has the plan adequately considered personal and environmental factors?
Have contextual factors which will act as facilitators been incorporated into the plan? Have factors which may pose barriers been identified and managed in the plan?