RN Patient Advocate Services

Confused with your healthcare situation?

Feeling lost in the system? Angry or confused because no one is listening to you? Frightened about what may happen? Doing everything the doctors tell you and still not improving? An RN Patient Advocate is a highly skilled clinical nurse who is trained to empower you in the healthcare system, to teach you what is happening, to work closely with you and your family to protect your healthcare rights and safety. 

Who is an RN Patient Advocate?

An RN Patient Advocate is a highly qualified clinical RN who has taken an intensive course to learn the Advocacy Process © and received Certification as an independent RN Patient Advocate.   What are your RN Patient Advocates qualities? 

	A minimum of 12 years clinical experience in a variety of settings.
	A broad clinical knowledge base and fluency in “medical speak”.
	An in-depth understanding of the complexities of the healthcare system and ability to navigate within it.
	An ability to work closely with all your doctors and hospitals/institutions to advocate on your behalf, to ask those questions you don’t know how to ask.

How does an independent RN Patient Advocate help you?

	We advocate on your behalf with your doctors, the hospital, all medical personnel working with you;  this helps to prevent medical errors.
	We collect and process all the information about your case and teach you what is happening.
	We carefully review all records to look for gaps:  what diagnostic tests might have been missed, what results might have been overlooked, what changes in the current treatment might result in better health.
	We provide health and wellness coaching – we teach you and your family about the relationship of your current illness to your whole medical history:  illness doesn’t happen in a vacuum – a more in-depth understanding can lead to better health overall.
	We collect all medical history records and compile a concise, evolving Medical Time Line © - this provides you and all your doctors with a concise, complete background which helps to avoid medical errors.  Incomplete information leads to poor treatment choices by your doctors.
	We research all the medical literature to discover the full range of treatment options for you including the traditional pharmaceutical/surgery approaches as well as the ever-widening body of Integrative Medicine options.
	We teach you and your family about these options so you can best understand your health options and make an informed choice.
	We guide you and your family to the most appropriate physician consultations to assist in your decision making.
	We facilitate the course of your medical treatment, ensuring good communication between all your doctors and therapists.  This helps to prevent medical errors and save costs for unnecessary procedures.

What doesn’t your RN Patient Advocate do for you?

	We do not make healthcare choices for you or your family, diagnose ailments, order treatments or replace the physician in any way.
	We do not provide your total care in the hospital.  Your RN Patient Advocate advocates for you, safeguarding your safety.  Your Advocate is a complement to the hospital staff, not a replacement for it.
	We do not replace the Social Worker, Physical Therapist or Nutritionist.  Your RN Patient Advocate will work cooperatively with all members of your healthcare team to ensure your best possible treatment.
Testimonial Finding a RN Patient Advocate is a life saver for us. Our daughter became stricken with intense headaches; we know they were treating a symptom but no one was trying to find the cause. We didn’t know what to do. KAREN was our answer. And so begins our journey to better health. Karen is skilled in research and was able to make sense of 10 years of medical records. She put together a timeline of medical history that allows a doctor to get a ‘picture’ of the health challenges our daughter had without going through literally ½ - 1 foot of medical records. As a nurse, she is able to understand doctors and over years of experience has learned how best to talk with doctors to find out information, ask if certain test/ procedures might help to find causes and in short – GET THINGS MOVING. Karen suggested EvaMarie consult a doctor in a larger city. She found several options and provided us with information in a form that allowed our daughter to made an informed decision on the doctor she would like to see. With Karen there is NO pick a name from a phone book, SHE RESEARCHES. You can count on her for accurate information. She guides you; she doesn’t TELL you what to do about your health. She helps us develop questions to ask our health care providers. When needed, she works directly with our health care providers. She was in contact with us, literally daily, gathering current health information, finding healthier alternatives to daily living. We have further to go and will have Karen by our side. You see, Karen gave all three of us a most precious gift – HOPE. Oh yes, she charges for her services. Let me tell you IT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY. I can not say enough about our Karen, RN Patient Advocate. If you have a simple or complicated situation that you can not seem to get resolved then I highly recommend engaging the services of a GOOD RN Patient Advocate. Did I tell you? We did all of this long distance.   D. Schlichtling Wisconsin Read More Testimonials...