Duties and Services

            
                                                                                   
 
                                                    
            

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The patient advocate may provide medical literature and research services to the patient, family, or healthcare provider. The patient advocate may also assist with family communication on issues arising from illness and injury. This may include further referral for care and support for both patients and families.

The patient advocate has a responsibility for awareness of compliance, appropriateness, and coordination of care for the patient, such as oversight for potentially conflicting treatment modalities and medications. The patient advocate can ensure that questions about the appropriateness of medical treatment are promptly discussed with the patient's care provider, and that all treatments and concerns are promptly entered into the patient's healthcare record.
 
                                                               

The patient advocate is also responsible for reviewing the patient's healthcare record for correctness and explaining it to the patient. Creation and maintenance of an electronic log for the patient that is available on disk to healthcare providers, is another responsibility of the patient advocate, which may be of great benefit in subsequent urgent medical situations.

The patient advocate can also assist in resolving disputes between patients and their health care provider, as well as engaging in communications on behalf of the patient in the case of employment issues, engaging with the employer to achieve a mutually beneficial solution for the employer and the individual employee. In a case where applicable compliance standards are not met, the patient advocate may conduct liaison with corporate oversight, government agencies, or legal professionals to further negotiate such issues on behalf of the patient and family.
 
                                                                  

It is the duty of a patient advocate to maintain patient privacy according to local and national laws, treating all patient and family information as privileged and protected. This includes ensuring that health care provider communications are treated as highly confidential and privileged, whether or not those communications are specific to the patient, and that permissions to disclose information are negotiated carefully. It is also the duty of the patient advocate to follow any referrals for medical, financial, legal, administrative or other personnel to assure that the patient is always kept safe and well informed, never abandoned or misled during the process.

A patient advocate may be present for health care appointments and alert the health care provider to any patient concerns or issues. He or she may separately assist the health care provider and support staff with potential issues and communication. The patient advocate is responsible for maintaining communication with the patient and health care provider to help ensure patient understanding of procedures. By reducing fear and increasing patient compliance, this can result in a higher incidence of successful treatment. Generally, a patient advocacy contract that includes a release of medical information must be placed with each healthcare facility.

In short, Living Grace will educate, facilitate, and communicate with the patient, family members and health care providers to ensure the patient receives the best medical care possible and experience less stress and anxiety during the process.


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