2. WHAT IS PATIENT ADVOCACY?
• Definition
• An area of specialization in healthcare concerned with patient
education on the use of patient health plans and how to obtain
needed care.
3. WHO CAN BE A PATIENT ADVOCATE?
• Individuals
• Organizations
• Government Agencies
4. WHAT DO PATIENT ADVOCATES DO?
• Patient Education
• Liaison
• Transition Assistance
• More..
5. PATIENT ADVOCACY & PORTEER NOVELLI
• It is important to think about patient advocacy
• Family Reach Foundation
• CASA Columbia
What is it? – Patient advocacy is an area of specialization in healthcare concerned with patient education on the use of patient health plans and how to obtain needed care.
Who can be a patient advocate? - The patient advocate may be an individual or an organization. It can also refer both to individual advocates providing services that organizations also provide, and to organizations whose functions extend to individual patients. There are also governmental agencies that study and ensure compliance with government regulations including financial aid. Some patient advocates work for the institutions that are directly responsible for the patient’s care.
Individuals include: Family member (spouse, child, etc.), a close friend, or a professional advocate
Organizations can include: Alzheimer’s Association, American Cancer Society, LIVESTRONG Foundation, Lupus Foundation of America, etc.
Government Agencies include: The US Department of Health and Human Services, The National Institutes of Health, The Centers for Disease Control, etc.
What do patient advocates do? –
Patient education – Inform patients about the use of health plans and how to obtain needed care.
Liaison – Between a patient and their health care provider
Transition assistance – For older patients moving into assisted living and nursing homes, or such mundane but essential tasks as transportation, bill tracking, and payment assistance
Basically, patient advocates support and empower patients to make informed educated decisions, navigate the system to get the health care they need, build strong partnerships with providers while working towards system improvement to support patient-centered care. Anything that ultimately benefits a patient.
It is important for us to think about patient advocacy when continuing to work throughout the semester
As an agency and sub-agencies we are being the advocates for the Family Reach Foundation and CASA Columbia. While they are providing the services patients need to recover and families need to survive, we are being the eyes and ears for them by coming up with a successful campaign that they can use to better promote the organization. This in return could then potentially bring in more funds to continue to better serve the families who rely on them.
