Successful Weight Loss

Patient Advocate Role In Ensuring Health Care

By Arline Bradley


These individuals are primarily concerned with the care of patients and whether they have got sufficient knowledge about health plans. Patient advocate is a role that can be played by an individual or also by an organization that specializes in these services.

Advocates links the patients and the health care provider. Most of the people doing these jobs normally have some experience when it comes to health care or even social work. They may be doctors or nurses. The field of nursing has given advocacy some special attention when it comes to training.This advocacy is an important field when covering nursing ethics.

This advocacy entails providing services such as assisting old patients move into nursing homes, overseeing transportation of these individuals and also payment assistance.

Currently an advocate requires no special license or accredited certification in order to operate. However, Institutions are offering training and certificate programmes for those in this field. They do this through organizing workshops. Legal knowledge is however indispensable as one is required to adhere to the various legislation and rules that has been established. It is therefore incumbent upon the one to educate him or herself.

This advocacy ensures that the client is sufficiently informed to ensure that he remains aware of the various procedures and requirements set by the health provider and other requirements. He or She may separately help the health care provider with relevant communication or issue concerning the patient. He or she simply acts as a link between the two. The advocate can therefore contribute immensely to the successful treatment of the patient by ensuring that the latter does not undergo any unnecessary fear, strain or anxiety when confronting issues such as basic formalities.

He or she may go a notch higher to ensure that the client and the family have access to published medical materials that he or she deems necessary for them to have. This involves having family members kept abreast with what is happening with regard to the patient. He or she also keeps a close eye on the medical records and the general treatment of the former so as to ensure correctness and compliance. More to this, he or she may be involved in dispute resolution on behalf of the patient. This may entail filing suits or seeking the intervention of government bodies that ensure patient protection or even the help bodies that play oversight roles. Another important role is that of ensuring that information of the client is confidential does not get into public domain and if need be it must with his or her consent.

Advocates may also be members of organizations that investigate and offer advice on healthcare issues. In these reports they ensure that the interests of the patients are safeguarded. Since some of these people are professionals, they agitate for the best practices in matters of provision of health services. The government has bolstered these efforts by setting up offices that ensure these practices are promoted and handle complains.

In taking care of the patient, he or she 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 client. 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.




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