A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to sit down with a friend and colleague, Rajitha Bommakanti, BSN, RN-CCM, to discuss nurses’ roles in patient advocacy. We discussed how patient advocacy teaches people to take an active role in their health and healthcare. When they do, quality is improved, costs can be contained, and patients, their families, and all healthcare team members win.
I have known Rajitha for over ten years, and she is someone who I was proud to mentor as she moved into the area of wellness and holistic healthcare. Rajitha has over 30 years of experience as a nurse, case manager, holistic health and wellness coach, and founder of the Healthy You Lifestyle Center.
Her primary purpose is to serve others by helping them adopt a healthy lifestyle. She works to reduce care fragmentation and focuses on assisting people in improving their health and managing safe care transitions.
After my healthcare challenge as a Brain Cancer Survivor, I moved into the area of patient advocacy. In our conversation I talked about my transition and how I see my work as a patient advocate helping people, (patients, and their families) learn how to be active members of their health and healthcare. If my belief, that to contain escalating healthcare costs and improve care delivery people (the patient and their families) must be part of the strategy.
Take a minute to listen to our conversation at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCtEnynlVc0 and leave a comment as to how you are taking an active role in your care.
Feel free to share this link with your family and friends, as together WE can make a difference.
Have a good week.
Good morning– I made time and listened to this very informative presentation. Thank Anne and Rajitha.
I was pleased that the issue of finance was addressed. Advocacy services are very valuable but they involve a lot of time and intervention , therefore they cost money. The benefit, relief and support that advocates provide can be incalculable.
Although many healthcare organizations provide “advocacy” services, Anne you are correct when you say often the hospital based advocates prioritize organizational needs. Also once patients are discharged, hospital based advocates are no longer involved with patients and often the baton is not passed to an outside entity.
While not, everyone requires a healthcare advocate, it is important to note that if you need one, it is worth every penny spent to have someone whose primary purpose is looking out for your interest.
I had always done this in my 39 years of Work Comp Case Management. I only had maybe 10% who resisted.
It was too bad that for the 10 years I did bedside nursing in the early 70s-80s, we were not supposed to discuss a patient’s status in depth. However, I always did so by way of educating the patient, and/or family member(s), in language they easily understood.