What Do Hospital Patient Advocates Actually Do?

In a hospital, patient advocates ensure that patient’s rights are respected and heard and that their needs are met at all junctions of their healthcare path. The patient advocate serves as a bridge between the patient, family, and healthcare system, thus helping them navigate medical care, which can sometimes be a complicated and overwhelming world. From bedside assistance to availing hospital support services to family members and caregivers, Patient advocates offer many services that can elevate the patient experience within hospitals.

What Is Hospital Bedside Advocacy?

Hospital bedside advocacy refers to the particular patient advocate roles involving direct contact with patients in a hospital. The advocate collaborates with patients, namely those who may be unable to ask for themselves due to sickness, age, language barriers, or emotional distress. This hospital bedside advocacy is pertinent mainly for patients undergoing treatment involving complications or working with critical units where decisions might be hard to undertake.

Bedside advocates help patients’ needs to be catered to on a more emotional basis, especially on the following:

• Communicating Patients’ Wishes: Make sure the medical team hears the wishes of the patient about their treatment, especially if the patient is unable to express their desires.
• Clarifying Medical Information: Make sure patients and families understand the medical terminology, diagnoses, and treatment options discussed by healthcare providers. Act as a bridge in communication between patients and doctors so that the patient is kept informed.
• Aiding in Comfort and Dignity: Assisting in fulfilling any immediate comforts the patient requires, like pain relief or emotional support, and ensuring the patient has dignity upheld during their time in care.

General Role of Patient Advocate in a Hospital

Patient advocates provide hospital support services to family and caregivers throughout the hospital stay, from admission to discharge. Their responsibilities, in general, consist of:

1. Communication Assistance

Effective communication between all healthcare providers and the patient is required to attain effective outcomes. The patient advocate helps facilitate these conversations in which truly the patient should be in command, such as if the patient wishes treatment or says no. For patients who may have some problems understanding their medical situation, the advocate may be tasked with translating medical lingo into something comprehensible to them.

2. Healthcare System Navigation

Hospitals and healthcare systems can prove to be hard for people to navigate, especially for family members in association with the clinical setting. Patient advocates help families understand the hospitalization systems from appointments to paperwork to matters such as insurance claims or bill inquiries. They also work towards assisting with the scheduling of tests, treatments, or follow-ups.

3. Emotional Support

A hospital may be emotionally exhausting for both the patients and family members. The advocate can provide hospital support services to the family and caregivers by acting as a guide, providing reassurance and emotional comfort during difficult times. These advocates may listen to the family or lead them to professional services if necessary.

4. Concerns and Complaints

If the quality of care has raised concerns for a patient or their family and the patient’s rights have been undermined, a patient advocate would have to intervene. They act as a neutral party, to ensure a timely and professional addressing of the complaints rendered by the patient. This would entail mediating with healthcare providers or directing priority issues to the higher levels of hospital management.

5. Care Coordination

An important area of hospital bedside advocacy is engaging in close cooperation with the healthcare team and coordinating care. Advocates may help to ensure that patients’ medical records are up-to-date, their treatment plans are being adhered to, and that multiple healthcare providers are in sync in their understanding of the patient’s needs. In hospitals using a multidisciplinary team approach, advocates often assume the role of person that ties the various aspects of care—be it coordination amongst doctors, nurses, and nutritionists, or therapists.

6. Advocating for Rights and Safety

A hospital patient has the right to receive care in a safe and non-discriminatory environment. Advocates play an integral role in ensuring that, especially in some cases where patients are vulnerable or unable to communicate appropriately, the rights of patients not violated; Advocates also advocate in favor of the safety of patients by ensuring their infection control measures, along with their medication safety measures, have been put in place.

Conclusion

Patient advocates in hospitals work as crucial allies for both the patients and their families to ensure that individuals receive the proper treatment while also guiding them through the intricacies of the healthcare system. From bedside advocates who work directly with patients to help their voices be heard to providing vital hospital support services to families and caregivers, patient advocates are essential components of a support network in any hospital.

Their work not only improves patient experience but also adds to the quality of health delivered to patients, with an emphasis on the families coping with healthcare delivery challenges. In a sphere where, oftentimes, the medical system feels impersonal, the importance of patient advocates grows through their deliberate efforts to ensure that patients feel seen, heard, and cared for.