What can a Healthcare Advocate do for your patients?
Ensure Person-Centered Care
Person-Centered Healthcare (more commonly refferred to as patient-centered care) is something that is talked about in many healthcare institutions and provider offices, but the reality shows us that sometimes a person is lost in the process of healthcare delivery. With a Healthcare Advocate on your patients' side they can focus on getting healthy with the knowledge they have someone with time dedicated to thier needs.
The Picker Institute defined dimensions of person-centered care as including: (1) respect for a person's values, preferences, and expressed need, (2) coordination and integration of care among providers and healthcare institutions, (3) information, communication, and education tailored to a person's needs, (4) physical comfort, especially freedom from pain, (5) emotional support to reduce fear and worry associated with illness and treatment, (6) involvement of friends and family in caregiving and decision making, and (7) planning for transition and continuity to ensure a person continues to heal after leaving care. (Patient Advocacy for Healthcare Quality, pg. 11-12)
The Picker Institute defined dimensions of person-centered care as including: (1) respect for a person's values, preferences, and expressed need, (2) coordination and integration of care among providers and healthcare institutions, (3) information, communication, and education tailored to a person's needs, (4) physical comfort, especially freedom from pain, (5) emotional support to reduce fear and worry associated with illness and treatment, (6) involvement of friends and family in caregiving and decision making, and (7) planning for transition and continuity to ensure a person continues to heal after leaving care. (Patient Advocacy for Healthcare Quality, pg. 11-12)
Ensure Person Involvement
Medicine is science and because of this, knowledge of healthcare professionals
is championed and the lay knowledge of patients is overlooked. True patient
participation is rarely invited by healthcare providers and most patients spend more time deciding on what car to by than on their healthcare choices. A Healthcare Advocate can advise your patients on ways to become more involved with their own healthcare, improving follow through on physician orders and overall patient outcomes.
is championed and the lay knowledge of patients is overlooked. True patient
participation is rarely invited by healthcare providers and most patients spend more time deciding on what car to by than on their healthcare choices. A Healthcare Advocate can advise your patients on ways to become more involved with their own healthcare, improving follow through on physician orders and overall patient outcomes.
Ensure Healthcare Safety
With the publication of To Err is Human from the Institute of Medicine in 1999 came an increased focus on safety in healthcare. Professionals of Healthcare agree that avoiding errors is the goal but many of us are strapped with conflicting priorities related to the demands and pressures of our current Healthcare System. More and more studies are being published that outline the problems and steps Healthcare providers can take to prevent them. The gap lies in educating the Healthcare consumer about these errors and how they can help with prevention. Your patient's Healthcare Advocate has the time and tools to focus on Healthcare Safety.
