Consumer Advocate for Healthcare Essay Paper

Introduction

Health is considered an important part of anyone’s living condition. Health basically identifies the concept by which a person is able to assure himself of the different possibilities by which he is able to keep track of his health and the capacity to protect this particular element as part of his survival. However, there are instances when individuals have no idea how to undergo such options in healthcare. This is where the role of consumer advocate for healthcare is give specific attention to. In the interview brief that shall be presented in this discussion, a distinct indication of the role of a consumer advocate shall be better given attention to.

Background of Profession

A consumer advocate for healthcare represents the overall idealisms being given attention to by health advocates in general. Consumer Advocate for Healthcare Essay Paper Having the knowledge on the most competent healthcare programs available in the industry, health advocates are able to distinctively address on what program to assign to the patient depending on the case they have to face in relation to their current health status. Financing is, however, not the only concern of a healthcare consumer advocate. More than monetary support, such an expert is concerned on how healthcare operations are handled effectively towards the recovery options that are available for the patients.

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

Having general knowledge of basic health issues and the counterpart health provisions given to support individuals having who are undergoing specifically difficult times because of their health status, healthcare consumer advocates are able to help patients see the better side of the situation and become more involved in the process by which they are given the chance to recover faster at a much considerable pace based on the assistance that are available for them to take.

There are also some instances when patients face the difficulties of making decisions especially in relation to complicated issues in healthcare that they become involved with. May the complication be culture related or personal in nature, patients need the assistance they can get from experts to be able to enhance their chances of being understood by their medical attendees. Standing as mediators between the patients and the doctors, a consumer’s advocate dedicated to healthcare has the capacity to provide suggestions to doctors and patients alike as they try to make the ends meet in consideration with the treatment needed by the patient and the treatment that the patient would actually accept. With the presence of a healthcare consumer advocate, patients and doctors could make the ends meet and find a way to resolve issues that are most often than not complicated in nature. In this case, the role of the said expert becomes clear and determinable especially in relation to the importance it plays towards opening the options of treatment and recovery available for the patients to take notice of.

For this interview, the person that has been asked about the application of such role has been working in the said position for at least seven years already. Having had the chance to work with at least three primary healthcare facilities and is affiliated with several healthcare experts, the interviewee gives an overview of what needs to be given attention to when dealing with patient-care issues. Focusing on the concept of patient-centered operation, she mentions that her position in the healthcare facility she works with is to serve as the representative of the patients as individuals needing care and as consumers of medical products and medical services that they are entitled to in relation to the health cases they have to contend with. In her opinion, her responsibility is dedicated towards assuring that the values of the patients gets specific attention especially when it comes to determining the course of improvement that they could take into account in consideration with their health issues.

As a consumer advocate dedicated to healthcare patients, she sees herself as a representative of the patients as they intend to expand the possibilities by which they realize about the different options of treatment and assistance that are available for them. Particularly, she mentions that she needs to be specifically knowledgeable of financial assistance programs that are available for patients in their area. Basically, her concentration on this aspect of the service she provides is dedicated to what the people in her community actually needs. Consumer Advocate for Healthcare Essay Paper She mentions that within the seven years of being in her position, she is able to realize that with the many problems the patients need to face in consideration with their medical concerns, finances is one of the most common and most determinable source of problem for most of the residents within her area.

Hence, to make sure she gets access to the said programs, she does a constant research on what programs and policies would specifically fit into providing assistance to patients experiencing specific cases. A challenge to her capacity to provide updated data is the fact that she needs to go into field research to make sure that the data she has is accurate enough to be able to provide the specific needs of the patients she aims to assist.

Another aspect of her responsibility is to assist patients in facing problems regarding complex situations where patients are given different options of treatments depending on what best fits their capacity to pay or support the operation that is to be applied on them. Such problems may include the choice of whether or not going through an expensive operation in exchange of a much cheaper one that appears to be less effective in dealing with the health issues that the patient may currently be suffering from. Being an advocate of health, she is enticed to present the patients with the best option possible that could save their lives better and could ease them off from their health dilemmas at a much better pace. However, the problem arises when the resources of the family cannot fit the most convenient and most effective treatment available. In these cases, she has to be realistic as well, she needs to help the patients decide on the matter and be able to create a logical point of understanding that the patients could use to reason with themselves and the idea of saving their lives or that of the ones they love.

When asked about the most challenging cases she had to deal with in her profession, she mentions that ethical considerations might be one of the most complicated sources of her stress at work. It is during these instances when the patients may have ample financial capacity to support a particular operation and yet are unwilling to undergo such option because of religious or cultural sanctions they feel they are obliged to follow. Respecting the beliefs and the faith of the patients, she needs to adjust her own system of belief to fit with theirs.

At some point, she mentions that she has to see the patients at a much distant place to understand their position. She has to explore different ways to address their needs, to mediate with their medical providers and to make sure that their values for life are respected properly while they are being treated for the ailment they may be suffering from. At this point, she recognizes that there is much pressure on the part of the medical attendees as well. However, her position as a mediator between the two separate parties makes it hard for her to actually convince both ends into a single decision that would fit both of their goals and principles regarding healthcare.

Regarding this, she mentions about the case of a nine-year old child suffering from leukemia who needed blood transfusion. Her parents, being Jehovah’s Witnesses do not want to accept such treatment because of their belief of the need to abstain from blood. It was her sixth year in the industry. Although she had heard of same nature of cases being handled by colleagues, it was her first time to handle such a case on her own. At first, she wanted to say a piece of advice to the parents regarding their beliefs. Being neutral during these times is a hard concept ot understand; however, it must be applied accordingly in respect to what the clients or the medical consumers demand for. Although she was stressed out about the situation, she mentioned how such case prompted her to expand her research and understanding regarding blood alternatives available in the medical industry. The emergence of new technology and new medical researches has paved the way to provide bloodless surgeries to patients who do not accept blood transfusion. Upon research, she realized that it is not just the Jehovah’s Witnesses who have such a stand regarding blood transfusion. Some patients pick such decision by personal choice due to hygienic beliefs. Being able to encounter such cases has increased her capacity of responding to complex situations in the industry that requires specific attention to details that would determine the value the medical industry has for the lives of the patients as well as for the values that are important for them to protect.

ORDER NOW HERE

Importance of Specialty

As mentioned earlier, the interviewee sees herself as a mediator between the patient and the caregivers. The medical attendees’ goal is to save the patient’s life. However, because of some circumstances, some patients do not fully follow instructions or suggestions of medical practitioners due to personal concerns, religious sanctions and cultural beliefs. When such complications arise, the interviewee’s role as a mediator comes into place. Not only does she see herself as a provider of better options of being treated to medical consumers, she also sees herself as the source of reason for both the patients and the medical attendees she hopes to give attention to.

This is the reason why being constantly updated through proper research is a vital part of her profession. Driven by her desire to provide what the patients need and help the medical practitioners see the values that their patients hold important, she is prompted to widen her understanding of her profession and all the different aspects of development related to it. She believes that it is through this option that she is able to improve the way she serves the values of concern among her stakeholders.

Summary

A consumers advocate dedicated to serving clients and individuals working in the medical industry takes on the role of being an adviser not only for the sake of saving the lives of the patients, but also for helping medical practitioners uphold their role as healthcare providers who are dedicated towards assisting patients into embracing better health status. With her knowledge on financing assistance programs and accurate medical operation alternatives, she is able to set the ground in determining a common ground for patients and medical practitioners to work with.

References

Klein, Daniel B. (2008). “Consumer Protection”. In David R. Henderson (ed.). Concise Encyclopedia of Economics (2nd ed.). Indianapolis: Library of Economics and Liberty.

Consumer Advocate for Healthcare Essay Paper