Beware! This year’s Medicare Open Enrollment period runs from October 15 – December 7. I call it “MediScare” season because private Medicare Advantage insurers try to scare consumers into signing up for their plans. These Advantage plans often over-promise and under-deliver, putting patients at risk. During Open Enrollment, current and future Medicare recipients are bombarded…
This post was contributed by guest writer Alicia Blair In Carnegie Mellon University’s insights on making decisions in a COVID-19 world, researchers note that the pandemic has posed difficult but interdependent decision-making challenges for professionals and individuals alike. Professionals need to base decisions on relevant health protocols, such as when to keep establishments open. On the…
When I tell people that I am a patient advocate and my job is to help patients and families navigate through our healthcare system, they often respond “I wish I had known you when ….” They tell me stories about when they were overwhelmed, confused, afraid, or unsatisfied by our complicated, expensive, and often inefficient…
Four things you must know when serious illness strikes: Get Smart Fast. Get Organized. Stand Your Ground, Nicely. Always Follow Up. Read this article for detailed helpful hints.
Patient advocacy, or patient navigation, is gaining attention as an emerging profession, both in the media and in the popular lexicon, because it fills so many gaps in the current American health care system. This is especially true today as we continue implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is changing the landscape for consumers in how health care is delivered and paid for in this country.
Washington Post article about how patient advocates can help during Covid-19 and other situations. I’m very pleased to be included in my hometown newspaper!
Patient Navigator LLC was interviewed for this excellent reporting by Jeff Blyskal at Consumers’ Checkbook. His article explains clearly the many ways an advocate can help patients and families solve problems and find their way through the healthcare maze. If you’d like to learn more about how an advocate can help you, now or in…
Any serious diagnosis thrusts patients and their families into an unfamiliar world of doctors, tests and treatment options. Here are my suggestions as you begin the journey through illness.
The holiday season – beginning with Thanksgiving and through the New Year – can be unbearably hard if you are grieving the loss of a loved one. Here are my tips to survive.
Easter Seals Project ACTION and the American Medical Association have a new pocket guide for patient transportation options before or after a medical procedure.
A recent meta-analysis published in online edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine has concluded that, “Acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic pain and is therefore a reasonable referral option.”
Patient navigation and patient advocacy are dynamic and growing professions. This article explores the background and current landscape of patient navigation and advocacy.
The bewildering sensation of too much information, yet not enough knowledge to use it, is the reality for many people faced with a serious illness or condition. How do you decide what to do?
In all cases, physicians and patients owe each other certain basic obligations. Here is our list for a better relationship.
In a new study led by a physician at the Mayo Clinic’s facility in Phoenix and published in the journal Radiology, the investigators determined that the virtual technique was just as effective for patients over age 65 as those aged 50-65.
In what is hailed as a potential game changer in transplantation science, a small preliminary study suggests that donor matching and organ rejection issues can potentially be addressed by transplanting stem cells from the organ donor to the recipient.
According to an analysis by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, about 1% of the privately insured population drives about 25% of overall health costs.
Why do long-term care insurance providers make it so difficult to collect the benefits for which consumers have already paid thousands of dollars?
Childhood depression affects many children deeply. There are tools and resources that can help.
Approximately 17 percent (36 million) of American adults report some degree of hearing loss. Yet audiological services and hearing aids are rarely covered by insurance.
Only 12% of Americans have proficient health literacy skills, so the majority of adults may have difficulty completing routine health tasks like understanding discharge instructions or diabetes care. There is a strong, independent association between health literacy and health outcomes.
Women, in particular, are sometimes reluctant to seek a second opinion. Learn how and when a second opinion can be life-saving.
Yoga, pilates, chiropractic care and acupuncture offer natural therapies for back pain. Surgery may end up being necessary, but the patient should explore these alternative other options first.
Many people experience depression during the holiday season. Now imagine trying to face it when you are grieving the loss of a loved one. It is very hard. It is painful. It is unbearably sad. Here are my own tips on how to get through the holidays if you are grieving.