Functions Of A Patient Advocate In The Society

By Sally Delacruz


Provision of patient advocacy services is undoubtedly one of the fastest emerging careers. The institution of a patient advocate has been reinforced by international media and reports. It is a field that has caught the interest of medical professionals such as doctors and nurses, social workers and even entrepreneurs keen on venturing in to a new market niche. The wide scope of advocacy services has made all these have a role to play as a advocate among patients.

The health care system, irrespective of the country you hail from, has become extremely tenuous that patients have to find an intermediary between themselves and the health provider. Doctors and nurses are not sufficient anymore to help us navigate through the many problems in the system. Professional private advocates become the best option for patients.

Advocates may come to you aid in pursuing insurance claims, help you in reviewing hospital bills, explain a diagnosis and its treatment or be with you regularly at home to monitor your recovery. Medical advocacy is arguably one of the most confusing and one that has a profound impact on the positive outcome of every medical process.

These advocates will be with you in the office of the doctor and ask pertinent questions on your behalf, help you make up your mind when it comes to important and difficult medical decisions, be with you in hospital to ensure you get the best hospital care, get the appropriate drugs or ensure you are not exposed to any infection in hospital conditions.

The advocate may play simple tasks such as overseeing transportation of patients or their movement into nursing homes.

It is the role of the expert to enlighten the sick person of the procedures and guidelines set by the health provider. He acts as the go in between the patient and health care provider. It is in this regard that regard that he is supposed to give the medic any necessary information on before of his client. In some cases the sick person is silent and the specialist talks to the doctor on his behalf.

This field is open to every person. There is no specific accreditation or license required to venture in the field. However some institutions of higher learning offer special training to interested individuals. Today there are workshops and conferences that are organize training on the field. After the training one is issued with a certificate. There are specific rules and legislation that advocates should observe in the jobs. It is in these gathering that they are enlightened about such matters.

In taking care of the sick, the advocate must always ensure that he or she does not get too much attached with the former to an extent of affecting his or her work. The latter must be supportive and believe in the patient. At times one has to act as spokesperson. Therefore the best person for the job must be caring and possess many more personal skills. A spouse, chaplain or even family members may play this role.




About the Author:



0 comments:

Enregistrer un commentaire