Personal Medical Advocacy

One of the Empowerment Tools at AHEAD is the Personal Medical Advocate.

 

Personal Medical Advocacy is a specialty service that:
  • Encompasses a range of strategic services for all ages
  • Embodies direct assistance to the individual/family
  • Promotes access to highest quality healthcare and obtains accurate diagnoses
  • Secures patient rights, fair treatment, personal privacy, and freedom of choice
  • Focuses on patient-centered care in the complex healthcare system
  • Maintains patient dignity through all phases of medical treatment and practice
  • Secures best available treatment services and procedures
  • Determines least-invasive treatment options
  • Provides transparency in service delivery

 

Every individual is entitled to identify, have clarified, and fully understand all aspects of their health needs, goals, progress, medical condition, physical and cognitive needs, treatment options, and legal or contractual rights. Patients are exasperated. Doctors are aggravated. A Personal Medical Advocate can bridge the gap of knowledge between the patient and his/her medical providers, so that the patient can make the best choices to optimize his/her medical care.

 

Some strategic areas that require an active Personal Medical Advocate include:
  • Non-discrimination in employment
  • Handicapped accessibility
  • ERISA compliance
  • HIPAA personal privacy compliance
  • Labor Law compliance
  • Violations of collective bargaining agreements
  • Wrongful terminations
  • Denial of services
  • Age discrimination
  • Disability diagnosis and benefit denial
  • Insurance coverage rights
  • Medical malpractice
  • Right to be informed
  • Right to obtain covered medical services and treatments
  • Experimental drugs and treatments
  • Alternative medical treatments
  • Treatment options available outside the United States
  • Amending previous medical documents
  • Instituting Healthcare Proxy, Power of Attorney, Advanced Healthcare Directive, Living Trust, etc.
  • Restoring driving privileges and other privileges previously taken away
  • Correcting false medical records
  • Rectifying workplace discrimination
  • Correcting medical billing errors or overbilling
  • Medication management and review
  • Independent living assessments
  • Occupational therapy
  • Creative financial options
  • Government program qualification
  • Facility and caregiver evaluations
  • Elder abuse determination
  • Health emergencies or surgery
  • Timely medical treatment
  • Transition of care: home to facility, hospital to facility to home, etc.
  • Coordination with navigators, case managers, insurers, and family.

 

It's time you get your own Personal Medical Advocate!

If you are feeling the stress of dealing with the complex healthcare system, and if you are unsure what the best options are for your future course of treatment, then you will benefit from a Personal Medical Advocate. If you are involved in some form of fight, dispute, legal struggle, or ethical dilemma, we can help you figure out what your best option is and even help you put your plan in place.