BEST PRACTICE & TREATMENT PLAN
Best practice papers are similar to literature reviews, with the focus on a specific health practice, rather than a concept. These papers, also called standard of care papers, may be based on a variety of primary and secondary sources. The target audience is other health professionals, and the purpose is to synthesize current evidence and promote best practice. Generally, best practice papers are short and concise because they are intended to help practicing professionals stay current while actively working. A treatment plan is vastly different. What the literature says to do may not be what a patient is willing (or capable) to do. Thus, you need to apply those best practices to what you can reasonably expect that a patient will actually do. The best practice is whatever treatment plan a patient is likely to follow.
To begin, you will need to do a literature search, with a focus on journals and professional organizations that help set the standards for practice for your specific topic that you chose in the previous assignment (Compare and Contrast). There is not a strict format for this type of paper, but you will need to include the following:
The importance of the practice or procedure—why a professional would perform it
An outline of the practice or procedure
An explanation of why this method of practice is an improvement over previous practice (you will need to mention the previous practice in your best practice so that someone can make an evaluation of your thinking)
TREATMENT PLAN
Once you’ve identified the best practice, you will need to create a treatment plan specific to your patient. Since YOU are creating the patient narrative (using the parameters set forth–you can add to the patientʻs issues as you see fit, but the basics are outlined below–this will mean that you will need to include a narrative of the patient’s issues. Since the patient narrative is critically important to your diagnosis and treatment, you will want to capture the language of the patient to give your narrative a human voice. Patient narratives are generally shorter and less in depth than a case study, but they do provide critical information that ties into both the Best Practice and the Treatment Plan.
Be certain to include the verification testing that demonstrates the validity of your diagnosis. This is critically important! Insurance companies will not believe you without verification that what you say is correct. Thus, you may need to order tests, and the results of that testing should be included in your Patient Narrative.
IMPORTANT: THE BEST PRACTICE & TREATMENT PLAN ARE NOT THE SAME THING. A “best practice” may really be THE best practice, but it’s only “the best” if the patient will follow it. Thus, a treatment plan is tailored to the specific patient, his or her needs, and what he or she will actually do versus what the literature tells that patient to do. Something in the Best Practice may not be something a patient is willing to do.
Use the following Patient Sketch to begin building your patient narrative (feel free to embellish or add necessary information that will lend itself to your diagnosis and treatment plan):
Female, Unmarried, No children, Non-smoker (socially smokes marijuana/drinks wine occasionally)
Age: 43
Religious Preference: None
Complicating Factors: Diabetes, Type I, first diagnosis at age 8, currently on the insulin pump
Preference for Eastern/Western medicine: Believes in Western medicine to a degree. Would like to come off of insulin. Believes strongly in the power of exercise and positive thinking and exercises one hour per day.
Test results that verify your diagnosis (the diabetes part is a pre-existing condition and has already been verified)
Care/treatment plan. This type of plan is a key part of health therapy for individual patients. In your practice, you will be asked to identify multiple diagnoses for your patient and then pick the priority one to base your care plan on. If you are asked to write your care plan on your “priority” or “chosen” diagnosis, make sure that every intervention, medication, or lab/testing relates to that one diagnosis. While the details of a care plan vary, generally you will include the following:
At least one possible diagnosis based upon the symptoms, including a patient narrative, which is the “story” of a patient or patient care experience (see above).
Health care interventions that are patient-specific and related to your chosen diagnosis, with a detailed and evidence-based rationale
Important: You will need to include Eastern medicine practices, e.g., acupuncture/pressure and herbology treatments as an alternative to or supplement to Western medicine practices–this is what the patient believes in, so honor that belief, no matter what your own thinking is on the issue.
A plan for patient education that is patient-specific and related to your chosen diagnosis, with a detailed and evidence-based rationale
Patient goal(s), typically in SMART Links to an external site.format (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound)
Directions for the patient to understand what the diagnosis is and the best treatment considering their lifestyle–this should be a very short checklist of achievable, short-term goals, e.g., cut caffeine in half within one month
Instructions for the care team including testing with specific direction and justification for the testing, if applicable
FYI: These treatment plans are also used in physical therapy, sports training, rehabilitation, behavioral health, and other fields. Sometimes the purpose is to document for the clinic what is being done with a given patient. Sometimes the purpose is to provide direction to a patient who is in recovery or hoping to alleviate a chronic condition.
As you can see, this is not a slap-dash, wait-until-the-last-minute type of assignment. It will require thought and care to write the Patient Narrative based upon the patient sketch provided, provide a discussion of possibilities for diagnosis and treatment, and to provide a best-treatment plan for your particular patient. No doubt, in the future you will be discussing the treatment of the patient with a team of professionals, so if a specific professional needs to complete a specific task, outline that task and explain why. For example, if you need to change the patientʻs diet, then refer the patient to a nutritionist. Itʻs not your job to provide the diet.
SUMMARY:
Required information:
Patient narrative and proposed diagnoses
Best practice as compared against other practices
Testing plan (and team plan, if applicable)
Treatment Plan that encompasses the patient’s lifestyle
Patient Plan for treatment in lay language
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