Defining Person-Centered Planning

A major principle guiding home and community based services is the systemwide shift to Person-Centered Practices. Definitions and policy guidance has been in progress at the federal level to bring consistency and quality to practices that ensure a person makes his/her own informed decisions about health care, social supports and their preferred community culture.

The National Quality Forum (NQF) has released its draft/interim report on Person-Centered Planning and Practices definition and competencies. The draft report can be downloaded here. Stakeholders have provided input and input is still encouraged.

This report will serve as the basis for future federal policy on Person-Centered Planning and Practice across health and human services agencies and programs.

The National Quality Forum (NQF) is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan, membership-based organization that works to catalyze improvements in healthcare. NQF has engaged a multistakeholder approach to address person-centered planning and practice (PCP) as part of Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS) systems.This project is funded under NQF’s contract with the Department of Health and Human Services. The project is intended to:

• Refine the current definition(s) for PCP
• Develop a set of core competencies for performing PCP facilitation
• Make recommendations to HHS on systems characteristics that support person-centered thinking, planning, and practice
• Develop a conceptual framework for PCP measurement; and
• Conduct an environmental scan including the historical development of person-centered planning in LTSS systems to include a research agenda for future PCP research

Additional information can be found on the NQF website.