What Does A Health Advocate Do?

What Does A Health Advocate Do?

Whether you own your own business, are a manager in a business, or are a solo entrepreneur, you may want to consider hiring a health advocate. This type of professional, also known as a patient advocate or health care advocate, can help you with your business, in keeping you and your staffers healthy, and helping them navigate the health care system.

If you have been watching the news lately, you know that change is afoot when it comes to our nation’s health care system. That is just one of the things a health care advocate can do for you — monitor the changes going on, and help your company deal with them.

What Does A Health Advocate Do?

Here are some of the things a health advocate can help you and your staffers with:

Navigating the Broken Health Care System in the United States

Dealing with the health care system in this country is very difficult, and only the strong may survive. That is one of the many things a health care advocate can do for you. Instead of having to deal with health insurance companies, hospitals, and physicians all by yourself, a health advocate can, well, advocate for you, and help you understand what you need to do to have effective health care.

Getting your Physicians on the same Page

It used to be that you would have just one doctor — what we call now a “primary care physician” — to deal with. These days, you could see a half dozen specialists, or even more. They may all be very competent in their particular field. But what if the medication used to treat one aspect of your health may potentially aggravate other issues with your health.

A health advocate can potentially get all of your medical professionals on the same page, and make sure that you get the right care and the best care for you. This is something you may not get from your current medical situation, or your health insurance company.

Finding Specialists

If you have been diagnosed with a disease or disorder, a health care advocate can potentially find you the right care and the best care for you. This includes finding the right treatment for you, as well as the top specialists in that field. After all, it is your health — and your life — that is at stake.  A health advocate should be plugged into the medical profession enough to know who the best people to treat you are, especially those that are in your area.

Navigating the Health Care Insurance Field

Depending upon what sort of a health care advocate you hire, you can potentially find one who can help you navigate all the difficulties and issues regarding your health care insurance. So much of the writing involved when it comes to reading the fine print with your health insurance may be difficult to understand. A health care advocate can help you understand what your rights are, and what your coverage is. This is vital when it comes to getting you the best health care.

To learn more about what a health care advocate can do for your business, visit Livingwell Care Navigation.

Lisa Swan writes for a variety of blogs.