Going it alone is NEVER the best choice when it comes to health care. Especially if you have time-sensitive treatments, a complicated diagnosis, or insurance issues to consider. When you need someone on your side — supporting your well-being, getting medical appointments, managing treatments plans or fighting for your benefit rights — you need a health advocate.
A relatively new response to today’s complicated health care system, health advocacy is considered a critical service by CNN and other news sources. Knowing when to hire an advocate, and how to choose one that’s right for you, is key to a successful outcome.
What’s the Problem?
Define your needs before looking for someone to help resolve issues. For example:
- Do you need someone to oversee care being provided to yourself or a loved one?
- Are your needs related to developing a plan of care for a particular diagnosis?
- Is it an insurance issue? Are your benefits being denied?
- Do you need help researching the latest technologies and treatments for a disease?
- Are you worried about mom and dad living alone?
- Will you need the advocate to be onsite at a hospital or facility?
Locating a Private Advocate
An internet search, using the key words “health care advocate” will direct you to advocate websites. Review their areas of expertise; narrow your choices and examine how their services meet your defined needs. Ask for referrals from friends, family members and physicians (use the terminology “case manager”).
Consider the Fit
Like physicians and health problems, advocates come in all shapes and sizes. Some have a “take charge” style” others are more laid back. Finding the right fit is critical. Things to consider:
- Have they helped clients with similar issues?
- If so, what do they consider a successful outcome?
- How many client cases do they work on at the same time?
- Do they have a resource network?
- How easily can you reach them during the week? Off hours? Holidays?
- How do they keep clients apprised of progress?
- How does the advocate charge for services: hourly or set rate?
Health advocacy is typically private pay, with fees ranging from $100 – $200/hour. The right advocate will guide you through the health care maze and so that you get the benefits and treatments you need when you need them. And that’s priceless.
You have an illness that is not going away. And every day it seems to get a little worse. Maybe you have unrelenting pain. Or reduced strength and ability. Maybe just getting around the house requires too much energy. You feel alone, tired and scared. What kind of care will help you live your best life while acknowledging the debilitating effects of your disease?
The answer is Palliative Care. This sub specialty of medicine provides compassionate medical care, helping to manage symptoms and drug side effects while working with you and your family to achieve a quality of life that addresses body, mind and spirit. Contrary to common belief, palliative care is not only for those who are terminally ill and in hospice; it’s widely available to patients suffering from debilitating symptoms of serious illness and those who are aggressively managing the disease.
According to the Center for Advanced Palliative Care, “Palliative care (pronounced pal-lee-uh-tiv) focuses on relief of the pain, stress and other debilitating symptoms of serious illness.” The palliative care team may consist of physicians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists and hospital chaplains. Anyone helping to advocate for your well-being should consider palliative care an essential component of your treatment plan.
Palliative Care —
- Can be provided along with treatment focused on curing the disease or illness.
- Is appropriate at any time during an illness and does not depend upon a prognosis.
- May help control treatment side-effects
- Focuses on control of pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, constipation, nausea, loss of appetite and difficulty sleeping.
- Is individualized to the needs of each patient and their families and changes with the patient’s needs.
- Provided by a team of doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and other professionals to provide comfort and support for both the patient and family.
No matter where you are along the journey toward managing a serious illness, palliative care can help you achieve your goals for a fuller quality of life. For more information, visit www.getpalliativecare.org
Choosing End-Of-Life Care
There are no words to adequately express that moment when we fully realize our life — or that of a loved one — is nearing the end. If life follows a “traditional” pattern, it means sons and daughters are caring for aging and dying parents. While we struggle to make sense of the inevitable, we also need to make compassionate and practical decisions. One of those is centered around end-of-life care and when to call upon hospice for help.
From its beginning in 1967 in England, hospice was designed as a philosophy of empathetic care, rooted in the idea of offering shelter and hospitality to weary and sick travelers. It is both an approach to managing end-of-life care and a health benefit provided by insurance plans and Medicare (for those who qualify for Medicare Part A and meet other requirements).
Hospice Care . . .
- Requires written orders from a physician, for individuals with a life expectancy of six months or less. In the case of a Medicare beneficiary, the hospice order can be renewed after six months for 90 days at a time.
- Provides palliative care to terminally ill patients who have decided not to seek a cure for their disease. While medical treatments continue, including use of antibiotics, the primary objective is providing comfort to the patient.
- Is family-centered, helping families cope with the physical and emotional process, while encouraging patients to live as fully as possible during the end stages of their illness.
- Can be provided in a variety of settings: home or a residential facility, such as extended care facility, or nursing home. Some acute care hospitals even have dedicated hospice units.
With hospice, patient and family members benefit from palliative care delivered by a coordinated team of caregivers that includes doctors, nurses, spiritual counselors, pain specialists, social workers and specially-trained volunteers.
Learn more about hospice care:
Healthfinder
Consumer healthcare information from the U.S. Government, with selected online publications, databases, web sites and support groups.
http://www.healthfinder.gov.
Hospice Foundation of America
Phone: 202-638-5419
http://www.hospicefoundation.org.
Medicare & Hospice:
www.medicare.gov/publications/pubs/pdf/hosplg.pdf
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
www.nhpco.org/templates/1/homepage.cfm