2.2 Planning for the individual patient

The scope and nature of the initial examination on admission to hospital must be specified.

An individualised treatment plan should be drawn up for each patient on admission to the hospital. The achievement of objectives should be checked. This is to be done according to a predefined scheme in which the data collection (medical history, problem identification, admission findings), the diagnosis, the selection of the therapy procedure and the therapy goals, the course of treatment itself, the corrections in the course of treatment and the final findings are to be differentiated.

Planning should be preceded by careful collection of all the data required for the patient's treatment and further care. In addition to the medical data, the planning should also take into account the social situation and competence of the patient, their relatives and the doctor providing treatment, as well as their religious beliefs and values. Treatment planning in individual cases should be concluded by a formal review procedure (e.g. presentation at the senior consultant's visit).

The hospital treatment should be concluded with an analysis of the overall process, in which inadequacies and problems in the realisation of the therapy goals are identified.

Once therapy has been initiated, the expected effects and the period after which the decisions should be reviewed must be determined.

The testing methods during treatment should be planned in such a way that they do not place unnecessary strain on the patient, but allow a change in the stability of the physical condition and a deviation from the therapy goals to be recognised quickly.

All measures relating to the treatment of individual patients should be coordinated by one person.