A health advocate is a new concept being introduced to the medical world as an answer to the uncertainty of healthcare today. It is something that is designed to put power back into the hands of the patient. A health advocate is a healthcare professional who has clinical medical experience and access to medical info that the average person just can't get. These professionals are usually RNs who consult with physicians, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, social workers etc. . . to help the client achieve the best health outcomes possible. A health advocate utilizes his/her medical experience and expertise, as well a knowledge of the healthcare system and how it works to achieve results quickly and effectively solving medical problems and achieving optimal outcomes.

Health Advocates offer a myriad of services that can help you. Their broad area of expertise as well as their access to other health specialists helps to make sure that all types of issues can be easily handled. These advocates uncover and address any issues that may be holding up your medical care. Some examples of these include things that slow down your discharge from the hospital, slow down getting a problem diagnosed and treated quickly enough, problems with a provider you are not satisfied with, helping you integrate to life after a major medical diagnosis, quick on the spot availability to ensure expedient treatment etc. . . .

Advocates utilize interventions such as calling or speaking face to face with your physicians, nurses, or hospital administration if need be to make sure that everything runs smoothly and all your needs are met.  If you have multiple providers we speak to them to ensure that good communication is taking place.  This is very important since many mistakes get made in medicine related to poor communication between providers.  Advocates will even help you prepare for a doctors visit making sure that all questions are asked and answered.  They should even come with you if you need them.

In addition to speeding up and improving your current care, a health advocate should give you continual support at home for your medical problems.  A good health advocacy group should help you to modify your lifestyle to a specific medical problem, and even offer education services for you.  They will speak with your insurance providers to try and resolve any issues regarding compensation for your care if you.  They should even be regularly researching your medical conditions and providing you the latest research in regards to new treatments and options available.  

Health advocates can be helpful for anyone.  But some people will have a greater need for the advocate than others.  People with chronic health problems can benefit from a provider since management of chronic conditions often becomes complicated requiring multiple doctors. This creates the optimal situation for mistakes to be made relating to poor communication.  Incompatible medications being taken prescribed by different physicians.  Conditions worsening between physician visits requiring quick action to prevent hospitalization are things that are frequently caught by the health advocate during a routing client check.  Sometimes the clients themselves don’t even recognize the change until an advocate points it out.  People with multiple medical needs but very little family support in town often use the services of a good advocate.

But this isn’t just a service for the chronically ill.  Newly diagnosed people or people trying to get a diagnosis and treatment could also use our services.  Advocates can really speed up the time it takes to get a medical diagnosis and treatment.  They can also help with lifestyle change to a new diagnosis and offer instantly available support.

Out of all the people who need a health advocate the most grateful are usually the ones who are hospitalized.  Hospitalization puts so much strain and stress on the patient as well as their family that any relief from this stress is always appreciated.  Advocates take the stress out of that situation by making sure that everything is flowing smoothly and both the family and the patient understand exactly what is going on.  In addition the advocates make sure the doctors are talking to each other.  Again, patient without families in town can especially benefit from this type of service although usually the family is very relieved to receive the help.

It is very important that the health advocate be a private party like Shepherd Health Advocates who works directly for the patient instead of the hospital or physicians. Working directly for the client ensures that the advocates efforts are performed only for the sake of the client and has no other special interests in mind.