Arizona Daily Star Examines Patient Advocacy Industry

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 30 Apr 2008 - 6:00 PDT

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The Arizona Daily Star on Sunday examined how the patient advocacy industry is growing as "hospital care grows increasingly complex and medical errors kill some 100,000 Americans every year." For patients, advocates monitor medications; review treatment plans; know detailed medical history; "alert overworked nurses when vital signs go bad; battle for timely attention in a jammed [emergency department]"; coordinate care during nurse and physician shift changes; and monitor "comfort, hygiene and mobility," according to the Daily Star.

Patient advocates "may be offering a vital, even lifesaving service in a severely overburdened medical system plagued by a shortage of nurses, doctors and hospital beds," the Daily Star reports. However, the practice is "not without controversy," as some physicians contend that patient advocates can "create conflict and interfere with communication and treatment," according to the Daily Star (McClain, Arizona Daily Star, 4/27).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

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