Call the Health Advocate
When do you need a health advocate? It’s not so different from, “Who needs a health advocate?” or, “Why do you need a health advocate?” But the question of when you need a health advocate can be answered a little differently. When you:
- Feel overwhelmed or consumed by your health and illness.
- Have been managing a chronic illness or condition that changes or progresses, and now it’s not so easy to manage.
- Receive a difficult or confusing diagnosis.
- Lose sleep over your research, trying to figure out how to care for yourself or your family member.
- Find yourself asking: “Now what—how am I going to deal with this?”
If you’re dealing with challenges like these, then it’s time to call a health advocate. Health advocate, patient advocate, medical concierge, healthcare advocate, or patient navigator—the title doesn’t matter. Help is here.
Sometimes, medical treatment can be an easy decision: taking an antibiotic for a confirmed strep throat to feel better and prevent complications, or having surgery for appendicitis—the appendix has to come out. But when you’re dealing with a chronic illness, there is so much more to consider:
- Why does this condition need to be treated, especially if I don’t feel sick?
- Will this disease progress? What does that mean for me?
- What treatments are available?
- What factors do doctors take into account when recommending treatment?
- What side effects of treatment are possible?
- Is the treatment life-long or for a limited time?
- How do diet and activity affect this?
These are just some initial questions. They may pertain to what you’re dealing with, or your questions may be completely different—many more need to be asked. You may not even know if you’re asking the right questions.
Heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and arthritis are the most common chronic diseases and conditions in the US. About half of all American adults have one or more of these or other chronic conditions, so if you’re reading this, you probably already know that. These conditions are complex and hard to live with; they are often the cause of disability and hospitalization. They are often interrelated and there are many different ways to treat them. There are specialty doctors and sub-specialty doctors to treat them. But when it comes to you and your family, you don’t want to feel lost, confused, or stuck in the medical maze. You want to have a clear plan to move forward. You want to ask the right questions. You want to find answers.
Take fear and anxiety out of the equation when your health is at risk. Montgomery Health Advocates will help you find and sort out information so that it makes sense to you and takes your unique needs into consideration. You’ll have help discussing your condition and your priorities and goals with your family and your doctor. Medical information will make sense to you when it is translated into understandable, usable information so that you can discuss it in a meaningful way with your doctors. While medical care is never without some risk, you’ll get the input and support you need in order to make the best decisions you can about your care. You can make the most of your health care. Call. Help is here.
