The truth is, healthcare is big business and profits have become more important than health or care.  It has three main components:  Payers (insurance companies, Medicare, etc), Providers (your doctors), and Patients (YOU).

Insurance and Medicare reimbursements to physicians are less each year.  Therefore, your doctor now has to see many more patients every day to keep the lights on.  The more patients, the less time and attention each patient receives.  Communication suffers, questions don’t get answered, and you leave your appointment feeling frustrated and unheard.  You don’t have enough information to ask further questions about treatment options, etc. and it becomes an unending loop.

Not to mention that your doctor is probably talking to you in a different language: medical terminology.  It can be a little like traveling to another country where you don’t speak the language well.

The biggest barrier to better health care is poor communication.

That’s where I come in.  Knowledge is power.  I empower my clients to ask the proper questions and understand the answers.  I encourage and assist you in becoming an active participant in your health care, not just a passive recipient.  Engaged and empowered patients are more likely to have positive health outcomes. It is your health, and you have the right to have your voice heard and to be treated as an individual and not a statistic.

A patient advocate is committed to ensuring that their clients have the necessary resources and information to make informed choices.

Advocates help their clients understand their diagnoses and the risks, benefits, and alternatives of the treatment their physicians have recommended.

A 2018 study found that doctors interrupt their patients on average of 11 seconds after the patient has begun speaking.  Can you fully communicate how you feel in 11 seconds?