A one-page plan agreed with the patient after assessment: what the problem is, what they want to achieve, how many sessions you expect, when you will review progress, and what they are doing between appointments.
It is for any allied health practitioner who works in episodes of care. Written in the patient's language and shared with them, it doubles as the honest answer to "how many sessions will I need?"
The UK standards it rests on
HCPC Standards of proficiency
Each profession's standards expect registrants to plan, deliver and evaluate interventions, and to set goals with the service user.
HCPC Standards of conduct, performance and ethics
Covers working in partnership with service users and keeping full records of the care you provide.
Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board (UK Supreme Court, 2015)
A plan discussed with the patient, including alternatives, supports informed consent to the whole course of care, not just the first session.
Must include
Problem or working diagnosis
The plan has to say what it is treating.
Patient goals, in their words, with a target date
Goals the patient chose are the ones they work towards. "Walk the dog for 30 minutes by June" beats "improve function".
Planned interventions
What you will do in clinic. Keeps the course of treatment coherent and makes consent specific.
Expected number of sessions and frequency
Patients plan time and money around this. Give a range and say it will be reviewed.
Review point and how progress will be measured
A date and a measure (pain score, function score, a specific task) stop a plan drifting on without evidence it is working.
Agreement from the patient
Shows the plan was made with them, not handed to them.
Optional
Home programme
What the patient does between sessions, and how often. Often the part that decides the outcome.
Cost estimate
Helpful for self-paying patients. Do not promise a fixed total if sessions may change.
Insurance authorisation
Record authorised sessions and expiry so the plan fits what the insurer will cover.
Discharge criteria
Agreeing up front what "done" looks like makes discharge a planned step, not an awkward one.
The template
Replace anything in [square brackets]. Print it, save it as a PDF from the print dialog, or copy the text into your own document.
Your treatment plan
[Practice name] · Prepared by [Clinician name], [Profession] · [Date]
Patient
Name: [Patient name] Date of birth: [DD/MM/YYYY]
What we found
Problem: [e.g. right knee pain on stairs and running]
Working diagnosis: [Diagnosis or clinical impression]
Your goals
1. [Goal in the patient's words], by [target date]
2. [Goal], by [target date]
3. [Goal], by [target date]
What we will do
In clinic: [e.g. progressive loading exercises, manual therapy, gait advice]
Expected sessions: [e.g. 4 to 6] at [e.g. weekly, then fortnightly]
Starting: [Start date] Review on: [Review date]
What you will do
[Home exercises, frequency and duration]
[Activity advice, e.g. reduce running to 2 km until the review]
How we will measure progress
[Measure, e.g. pain on stairs 0 to 10, or a validated outcome measure]: [baseline score] today.
Agreement
We have discussed this plan, including the alternatives, and agreed it together. It will be reviewed and may change.
Treatment plans are built into the patient profile in Atlacare: title, condition, goals, sessions planned and completed, start and target end dates, and status. Patients with portal access can see their plan in the patient portal (paid plans), and outcome measures recorded on the profile give you the progress numbers for the review.
Atlacare