1. Patient Advocates –
Dive Masters of Health Care?
How to get professional help
navigating the rough seas of health care.
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3. Fearless Professional Women
•Strong
•Decisive
•Take charge
•In Control!
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4. Except…..Dealing with the
Healthcare System
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5. Most Health Care Encounters
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Uncomplicated
Like a child
snorkeling
in a
bathtub.

6. When Health Issues Get
Complicated = Woman Overboard!
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Minus scuba gear, instruction manual, or dive master.

7. Who Gets Thrown in as the
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Life
Preserver?

8. Professional Women
Because we are:
•Strong
•Decisive
•Take charge
•In Control!
Because we “get things done.”
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9. We’re also
Sand wiched……….
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between caring for generations of family
members ……………..
between family and work obligations……
between guilt and self-fulfillment.

10. Yet we’re the ones who step up to
handle medical situations for:
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•Ourselves
•Spouse
•Aging parents
•Elderly in-laws
•Children and adult offspring
•Other extended family members
•Close friends

11. Where there are too many players and no coordination.
Where everyone is left to their own devices.
Where it is too easy to get lost or hurt.
Where “reform” emphasizes decreasing cost over improving
outcomes.
Where even the most intelligent and capable are confused and
overwhelmed.
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Only to be Faced with
a Sick Care System

12. The More Things Change………
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Medical Errors
Errors
Safe
42%
Over 10 years ago the Institute of Medicine
found that medical errors =
100,000 hospital deaths/yr
They also found over 40% of
Americans have suffered a
medical error for
themselves or someone
close to them.

13. …the More They Stay the Same
and
over 80,000 hospital-acquired
infections/year in the U.S.
These statistics have not improved significantly over the
past decade.
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14. This has been healthcare’s answer.
More Services Fewer Primary Care Docs
Less time/patient More Treatments
More Technology More Drugs
Less Communication Insurance
Electronic Medical Records
More Specialists
Too many CHOICES and DECISIONS!
Tool & Info
Overload
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15. Like Scuba Diving
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Lots of
wonderful tools

16. Information + Tools Knowledge
• 86% of 24-65 year olds with healthcare insurance
DID NOT understand
traditional health insurance concepts — deductible, copay,
co-insurance and out-of-pocket maximum
• 89% of people asked were NOT able to compute the cost of a
four day hospital stay when given the information that should
have enabled them to do so.
-Study reported in Journal of Health Economics, Volume 32, Issue 5, September 2013, Pages 850–862
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17. Where’s that Instruction Manual?
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18. Even Better……………..
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…where is the dive master? Someone
who knows all the ins and outs, how
to use the tools. Someone who can
navigate for us.

19. Navigating the Sick Care System
Takes Resources
 Time
 Knowledge
 Health literacy
 Financial literacy
 Patience
 Clear head
 Ability to detach
 Attention to details
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20. Traditional Help
We have relied on:
 Family and friends
Emotional baggage, family dynamics,
Limited knowledge of healthcare industry
 Employed patient reps and nurse navigators
Mixed loyalties (who pays them?)
Limited service range
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21. A Better Solution
Independent Patient Advocates
Like your own personal
dive master
showing you
the way.
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22. An Independent Patient Advocate
Someone who:
 Supports and promotes patient’s rights.
 Guides and helps you navigate the healthcare system.
 Gives patients a voice, ensuring they are heard and
respected.
 Makes sure patients get the care they need
 Resolves conflicts
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23. Services Might Include
 Care coordination and navigation
 Accompanying to appointments
 Liaison between patient and doctor or other provider
 Diagnosis and treatment option research and explanations
 Coordinating medical records and medications
 Help preparing advanced directives
 Auditing bills and negotiating denied claims
 Help in choosing best insurance coverage
…………and much more……………………
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24. Advantages
Independent advocates:
 Are knowledgeable about healthcare industry
 Are able to move amongst providers and facilities
 Offer a variety of services
 Answer only to you, their client/patient
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25. Benefits (What’s In It For Me)
Save yourself and your “patient” from
lost time, frustration, unnecessary
expenses, aggravation, medical
errors, and poor quality care.
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26. No More
 Missed appointments
 Missed treatment opportunities
 Misunderstandings about medications or treatments
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Eliminate
 Doubts and second guessing whether your loved one is
getting the best treatment for his/her condition.

27. An Advocate Can Ensure
 Patients get the insurance benefits they
deserve
 Patients don’t pay for things they don’t want,
don’t need, or didn’t receive
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28. Conclusion – Up Out of the Depths
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An independent patient advocate can
provide you with much-needed
help and relief.
Most importantly, they can give both you
and your loved one safe haven
and Peace of Mind.

29. Where Do You Go From Here?
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For more detailed information about independent patient
advocates and how to locate and choose one, download this
free tipsheet.

30. MedSavvy Health Advocates LLC
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Let us guide you through the healthcare maze
www.medsavvyhealthadvocates.com
info@medsavvyhealthadvocates.com
(719) 481-6440
Better Savvy Than Sorry Blog
https://medsavvyhealthadvocates.wordpress.com/
Some images courtesy of Ambro at freedigitalphotos.net and King at Scuba DiverLife.com

31. Parting Thought
“The world will be saved by the Western
women.” – The Dalai Lama
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