NAVIGATE, COMMUNICATE,
Advocate
The role of a patient advocate is to help patients navigate the complex healthcare system.
Because each person is unique, the support of a patient advocate is customized to fit your individual needs.
Patient advocates can facilitate communication between you and all your healthcare providers, ensuring that you have the necessary information to make educated decisions about your care. If you choose, a patient advocate can assist you by helping you implement a personalized care plan; helping you get or understand a diagnosis, and even help you with scheduling and coordinating appointments for doctors’ visits, specialists and medical tests.
Patient advocates work to bridge the gap between patients and healthcare providers.
Interacting with and caring for numerous patients everyday, healthcare providers are under extreme time restraints due to the way our current healthcare system is set up. Patient advocates work to bridge the gaps inherent in our current healthcare system, they work to facilitate and make sure accurate information and communication is flowing between the patient and their providers.
As your patient advocate and health coach, I do research, present options so you have the information and the confidence to decide what best for your health and the incentive to follow through.
I believe patients have their own intuition and wisdom about their health. However, stress, fatigue and confusion, can hinder a personā€™s ability to express their needs, clarify what their needs are and make informed decisions. A patient advocate can break down diagnoses and demystify the complex healthcare system, allowing patients to clearly assess their options. This clarity empowers patients to pick the path that best fits their unique situation. Independent patient advocates work exclusively for the patient they work for.
A patient advocate is bound by ethical standards not to make recommendations, and at no time do we make decisions about specific treatment choices, provide clinical opinions, or perform medical care of any type. We work for you by presenting options and helping you better understand what your doctors and healthcare practitioners are recommending. If you are a caregiver, we listen and work to understand what your loved oneā€™s needs and wishes are. Although we may be hired by a caretaker, patient advocates are a voice for the patientā€”the person who is receiving care.
