Do You Need a Patient Advocate for Your Health?

Health Family Advocate

A patient who lives far away from family and friends might find they are in a sticky situation when their health takes a turn for the worse. They are by themselves and unable to have anyone around to support them as they make difficult medical decisions. Instead of simply following the doctor’s orders and hoping for the best, a patient in this situation may want to seek out a patient advocate. Located in many hospitals, this is a person who will speak for you in order to ensure you get the best possible treatment for your condition.

Are You Alone?

Have somebody help you get healthy. Patients who do not have a readily available support system will want to look into a patient advocate. This person will be able to come to your appointments and to take notes on what the doctor is saying. If you have wishes that you want expressed and you have troubles expressing them, the patient advocate will step in and try to help you. Even if you do have family and friends who want to help, you need someone to step in when they are not available to help you. The more support you have, the better the medical decisions you will make.

Are You Confused?

Health Patient Advocate

Sometimes medical conditions are confusing. And while you might understand how to follow your treatment plan, you might become confused as things become more complicated or your disease worsens. With the help of a patient advocate, you can both listen to what the doctor is saying, then begin to ask questions so that you both understand the situation. Again, if you feel uncomfortable asking questions, then you can give this list of questions to the advocate to begin to see what they can find out when you are in an appointment together. The advocate, if given HIPPA privileges can also call the doctor’s office to ask questions about your condition, if needed.

Is Your Illness Affecting Your Memory?

In some cases, your illness or its treatment can affect your memory. By having a patient advocate working with you, they can create notes for each of your appointments, allowing you to see what was said, what was agreed to, etc. The more people you have keeping track of your medical history, the easier it will be to determine what the best course of action is. That said, if your memory begins to fail too much, you will want to draw up a contingency plan of what you want done for you so that the advocate can ensure your wishes are followed.

With a patient advocate, you will be able to manage your health as well as your treatment, allowing you to feel secure in your medical care.

Health Monitoring at Home Makes Sense

Health Snapshot

When you use a program like Health Snapshot at home, you can let your doctor into your home without having to go to an health check appointment everyday. They will be able to see the seven different health indicators change as your habits change. You will also be able to do this health assessment on a daily basis as the test only take a few minutes of your time. This program is simple and it keeps track of all of your results over the course of time, showing you and your doctor what your health really looks like – in and out of the doctor’s office.

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Health Snapshot

Personal health monitor. Tracks daily health changes and alerts on possible health issues (including cancer) on its early stage. Designed for health cautious individuals, wellness centers, health clubs.

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