What is a Patient Advocate, and Why Should You Have One
At any time during one’s life, an unexpected illness or injury may occur. Questions arise like — what do I have, why do I have it, what should I do, why should I do it, are there complications, side effects, how will this affect my life, my family, my work? Medical literacy and understanding of the healthcare system is variable. That’s when a patient advocate may be right for you.
First, What is a Patient Advocate?
Patient advocates play a crucial role in guiding individuals through the complexities of the healthcare system. They act as allies, aiding with communication, legal matters, insurance, and simplifying medical processes. Some patient advocates may even extend their support beyond medical care, ensuring patients receive financial, social, and legal assistance.
What’s the Role of a Patient Advocate?
Patient advocates take on a wide range of responsibilities, from scheduling appointments to negotiating bills, resolving conflicts both with healthcare professionals and within families, all the while safeguarding patients' rights. They provide emotional support, help with paperwork, and ensure that patients' needs are met, especially when patients are unable to express their preferences.
What are the Skills That Make a Great Patient Advocate?
To provide excellent advocacy services, a unique set of skills is needed. These include:
Communication Skills: Effective communication is at the core of patient advocacy. A patient advocate must be able to explain complex medical information in simple terms and ensure that patients and their loved ones understand both their medical situation and their options.
Problem-Solving Skills: Patient advocates often help patients make important decisions, such as choosing treatment options or navigating insurance coverage. Strong problem-solving abilities are essential for making well-informed choices.
Interpersonal Skills: Interacting with a variety of those involved in care including patients, healthcare professionals, insurers, and legal representatives, requires a balance of assertiveness, positivity, and politeness. Solid conflict resolution and collaboration skills are critical for successful advocacy. Above all, being a good listener is a central requirement.
Empathy and Compassion: The ability to empathize with patients and their families is critical. Your compassion and understanding can significantly ease the emotional burden of dealing with healthcare challenges.
Organizational Skills: Patient advocates frequently manage multiple cases simultaneously, necessitating excellent organizational skills. You must keep track of appointments, medical records, billing information, and deadlines.
Medical Terminology Knowledge: A solid grasp of medical terminology, including abbreviations and health record interpretation, is necessary to navigate the healthcare system effectively. As a physician, I know medical terminology backward and forward — but — I also know how to translate “doctor-speak” so patients can fully understand what their diagnosis is and their recommended treatment plan.
What’s the differential advantage of My Personal Advocate?
The personal nature of My Personal Advocate is truly personal. That’s because I have lived the patient experience many times over — from having had emergency life-saving cardiac procedures, multiple joint replacement surgeries, recovery from an autoimmune disease, spinal surgeries with an unfavorable outcome, prolonged intensive rehabilitation programs, and cancer survival, I am deeply empathetic and I fully appreciate patient anxieties, frustrations, fears, and resilience of which I bring to bear with helping others through their healthcare journeys.
When confusion and difficult decision-making arises from a medical condition, let My Personal Advocate guide you through your own healthcare journey. Take advantage of combining my deep understanding of the patient experience along with my extensive professional experience.