The framework, principles, and best practices followed by the American Academy of Physician Life Care Planners were formally introduced in 2017 through A Physician’s Guide to Life Care Planning: Tenets, Methods, and Best Practices for Physician Life Care Planners. This established, peer-reviewed methodology is widely recognized within the field of life care planning and has been consistently applied in thousands of state and federal cases across the United States, supporting its reliability and acceptance in legal settings. Education and training in this methodology are independently reviewed by the International Commission on Health Care Certification (ICHCC), the governing body for the Certified Life Care Planner (CLCP™) credential—the oldest and most widely recognized certification in the profession.
The ICHCC also evaluates and accepts life care plans developed using these standards as part of the qualification process for CLCP™ candidates. In addition, certified professionals who complete this training are eligible to receive Continuing Education Units (CEUs) through the ICHCC. This same methodology is further reviewed and endorsed by the American Medical Association (AMA), in collaboration with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Physicians who complete this training are awarded the AMA’s highest level of Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits, reflecting the rigor and clinical relevance of the program.
