The physician's report for assisted living is a medical form a licensed clinician completes around admission, so the community can decide whether it can meet your parent's needs. It usually covers diagnoses, medications, TB screening, memory and behavior, and the help your parent needs with daily activities. The form and timing depend on the state: California uses form LIC 602A, while Florida accepts AHCA Form 1823 or the practitioner's own form.
The community has said yes, pending "the physician's report." Now you're holding a multi-page form, your dad's doctor has no appointments for three weeks, and move-in is in ten days. This post explains what the form is for, what it asks, who can sign it, and how to get it completed and back to the community without losing a week.
What is the physician's report for assisted living for?
It tells the community, in a clinician's words, whether your parent's needs fit what the community is licensed to provide. California's form states the purpose on its first page: the information is required by law to help determine whether the person is appropriate for care in a non-medical facility, and it notes in capital letters that these facilities cannot provide skilled nursing care.
Names vary by state: physician's report, medical assessment, health assessment. The rules vary too, because assisted living is licensed by the states. A 2015 federal compendium of state regulations noted that because assessments cover health and functional status, states may require input from the applicant's health care provider. So the first question to the community is always: "Which form, from whom, and by when?"
The physician's report is different from the community's own assessment, which its nurse or director does in person. The same compendium found that most states have rules on when and how the community assesses residents, so expect both. Our post on the assisted living assessment covers the community's side.
What does the physician's report ask?
Two state examples show what to expect. California's form is detailed and state-issued. Florida sets required contents and lets the clinician use their own form or the state's.
| California | Florida | |
|---|---|---|
| Form | LIC 602A, "Medical Assessment for Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly" (revised 4/26) | AHCA Form 1823, Resident Health Assessment for Assisted Living Facilities, or the practitioner's own form |
| Who completes it | A licensed medical professional acting within their scope of practice | A health care practitioner, after a face-to-face exam |
| Timing | Made within the last year before the person is accepted as a resident | Within 60 days before or 30 days after admission |
| Main contents | Diagnoses, cognitive conditions, TB exam with dates and type, infectious and contagious diseases, allergies, physical health, capacity for self-care, mental health, behavioral expressions, access to hazardous items, medication management, ambulatory status, hospice | Physical and mental status, help needed with daily activities, nursing or therapy needs, special diet, current medications and help needed with them, signs or symptoms of TB and other communicable diseases, and a statement that the person's needs can be met in an assisted living facility |
| Updates | When required by the state department | At least every 3 years, or after a significant change |
Two details on California's form are worth knowing before the appointment. The medication section asks whether your parent can administer their own prescriptions, injections, glucose testing and as-needed medications, and store their own medications. The ambulatory status section asks whether your parent could leave the building unassisted in an emergency, which the form ties to the building's fire clearance. Other states differ, so check your community's form.
Who fills out which part of the form?
Usually three people touch the form, and each part has a different owner.
- The community fills in its name and contact details. On California's LIC 602A, that is Section I.
- Your parent, or their legal representative, fills in the personal details and signs an authorization for the clinician to release the medical information to the community. On the LIC 602A, Sections II and III.
- The clinician completes the medical sections and signs. California's form also asks how long the clinician has provided care to the person, which is one reason a doctor who knows your parent is the best choice when there's time.
If a legal representative signs the release, bring a copy of the power of attorney or health care proxy, so the right person signs and nobody has to redo it.
If your parent is in the hospital, ask on the first day whether a hospital physician will complete the community's form before discharge, or whether it has to wait for your parent's own doctor. That one answer can decide the move-in date.
How do you get the physician's report back fast?
Treat it like a small project with a deadline. These steps save most of the waiting.
- Get the current form from the community, not from a search result. California's LIC 602A carries a revision date in its footer (the current one reads 4/26), so ask whether an older version is still accepted.
- Fill in your parts first: personal details and the signed release.
- Book the appointment the same day, and say it's for an assisted living admission form with a deadline.
- Send a one-page summary ahead: current medications with doses, allergies, recent falls or hospital stays, and what help your parent needs with bathing, dressing, toileting, meals and medications.
- Ask how the form will reach the community, by fax, email or portal, and when.
- Check every page before it's sent, or ask the community to check it the day it arrives. A blank line or a missing signature can mean a second trip to the doctor.
What to say to the doctor's office: "My father is moving into assisted living on the 20th. The community needs its medical assessment form completed and signed by then, including TB screening. I'm sending the form and a one-page summary today. Could we book a visit this week, and who should I call if the form needs a follow-up?"
The TB screening is often part of the same form, so book them together. See the TB test for assisted living for which test fits a short timeline, and questions to ask your parent's doctor for the rest of that visit.
Put the doctor visit where it belongs: early
Parent Move Plan dates every task back from move-in day, so the doctor visit for the admission forms gets its own date instead of slipping into the last week. The 30-day version keeps the final week before the move intact, and the Google Sheet is shared with everyone helping.
Build your plan in 2 minutesWhy does an accurate report protect your parent?
Because the community uses the report to decide whether it can care for your parent safely, and to plan that care. If needs are understated, your parent may end up in a place that can't meet them, followed by a second move. If needs are clear, the community can plan the right level of help from the first day.
Accuracy can also affect the bill. If the community prices care in levels, ask how the physician's report and its own assessment set your parent's level, so the price you agree to reflects the care your parent will actually get.
Parents sometimes play things down at the doctor's office, understandably. Before the appointment, ask your parent if you can come along or share your one-page summary with the doctor. You're not overruling them; you're making sure the doctor sees the whole picture.
The medication section matters most in daily life. It shapes who handles your parent's pills after move-in, which our post on medication management in assisted living explains. For the rest of the admission paperwork, see documents you need for assisted living admission. And if the doctor visit is still unscheduled with move-in close, the 30-day move guide shows what else to move forward.
Frequently asked questions
Who fills out the physician's report for assisted living?
A licensed clinician completes the medical part, usually your parent's own doctor or, during a hospital stay, a hospital physician. In California the form asks for a licensed medical professional acting within their scope of practice. In Florida a health care practitioner does a face-to-face exam. The community fills in its own section, and your parent or their legal representative signs the release.
Is there one national physician's report form for assisted living?
No. Assisted living is licensed by the states, so each state sets its own requirements and some have their own form. California uses LIC 602A, Florida accepts AHCA Form 1823 or the practitioner's own form, and other states differ. Ask the community for the exact form it needs.
How long is the physician's report valid?
It depends on the state. California requires the medical assessment to have been made within the last year before admission. Florida requires the exam within 60 days before or 30 days after admission, and again at least every three years or after a significant change.
What happens if the form is incomplete?
The community may have to go back to the doctor's office for the missing items, which can delay move-in. In Florida, missing items can be collected from the practitioner, but must be documented within 30 days after admission. Check every page before the form is sent.
Sources
- California Department of Social Services: LIC 602A, Medical Assessment for Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (accessed Sept 2026)
- Cornell LII: Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22, 87458, Medical Assessment (accessed Sept 2026)
- Florida Administrative Code: Rule 59A-36.006, Admission Procedures, Appropriateness of Placement and Continued Residency Criteria (accessed Sept 2026)
- ASPE: Compendium of Residential Care and Assisted Living Regulations and Policy, 2015 Edition (accessed Sept 2026)