What Is a “Health Advocate” and Why Do I Need One?

As medical care becomes more complex, a new class of medical caregiver has emerged.  This is the health advocate. 

For many years, parents and patients have realized that the patient alone may not have the best judgement all the time to make health care decisions.  So children must rely on the advice of their parents, adolescents usually turn to their parents to help them make logical decisions, and individuals who are sick turn to their spouses, their family members, and their friends to advise them on important decisions about tests, treatments, health insurance, and hospital care. 

In fact, patients who are in a hospital are often so sick that they must totally rely on their family or significant others to make all their decisions for them.  Patients who are in intensive care units or seriously ill to the extent that they cannot make their own logical decisions must have someone to help them. 

First take the written step so vital to each and every one of us! It is important for you to have a durable power of attorney for health care, and also important for you to have given advanced directives even if you are currently healthy, well, and have no diseases.  You never can tell when an accident will render you incapacitated to the extent that you can’t make your own decisions.  Who will decide for you?  You can determine that now by filling out the appropriate legal forms.  Talk to your personal physician or attorney to find out where you can obtain these very important directives.  You can also access these online immediately at sites such as www.legacywriter.com or www.uslegalforms.com or www.findlegalforms.com or www.caringinfo.org. Many of these sites charge fees but some are free.

But in the past 10 years, an additional type of caregiver has emerged.  When there is no family member to provide the help and direction (health advocacy) on behalf of a patient, a group of individuals have emerged who can work on a private, hourly fee basis for patients.  Although some groups do not charge at all, most others do charge an individual fee.  Certain types of medical insurance now cover the employment of a health advocate to help the patient make logical decisions. 

For example, if you have become ill and have difficulty making a decision, you can contact your insurance company and determine if they will pay for a health advocate to help you make a decision.  These people will work with you to help make certain you have all of the information that you need, and help to prevent a hospital or insurance company or physician from trying to guide you into a decision which might not be in your best interest.

To help find a health advocate, people can contact the Non-Profit Patient Advocate Foundation (800-532-5274), or contact them through their website, www.patientadvocate.org to help locate a patient advocate. 

People should also beware of a possible risk:  for most patient advocates, there is no education, licensure, or registration required.  Anyone can call themselves a health advocate and charge for their services.  So be certain to get a resume from the individual who claims to be a patient advocate, and very importantly get personal recommendations from people whom they say they have helped.  If your hospital has a palliative care program ar even just a good social service department, these helpful health professionals can help you locate a patient advocate locally.

When a crisis arises, make certain that you have given direction as to who will help you make decisions through a durable power of attorney for health care purposes.  Make certain that you have a Will and advanced directives in place so there are no critical legal decisions you have to make at the time that you are ill.  Lastly, make certain you have identified a family member, friend, or in their absence, a patient advocate who can help you through the most life threatening situations.