A good health advocate is someone who knows you well and is calm, organized, assertive, and comfortable asking questions. A health advocate can be a spouse, relative, friend, or caregiver that you trust. Sometimes, it is helpful to have two people. When selecting an advocate, it’s best to:
- Clearly explain the kind of help you need and your concerns.
- Provide details of your medical history. You may even want to give your advocate access to your electronic health record so he or she can refer to test results or notes, ask for refills on prescription medication, and even email questions or concerns to the physician. Just make sure you provide permission for the doctor and other health care professionals to share information about you with your advocate.
- Ask the advocate to take notes or even record conversations with health care professionals. (Ask for your doctor’s permission before recording.)
- Give your advocate’s contact information to your health care team and give your advocate your health care team’s contact information.
The most important thing is choosing someone you respect and can trust to be both discreet and caring.
While your personal health advocate can help if you’re hospitalized, many hospitals also provide patient advocates to assist you. Geriatric care managers, including registered nurses and social workers, often serve as health care advocates.
Johns Hopkins Medicine