About Healthcare Advocacy

As an advocate for you (and/or your loved one), Karin can help clarify the medical situation, improve communication with providers, and create and implement a plan so you can get the best possible care for your specific health needs. 

This may include:
• Coordinating and communicating with your medical team;
• Accompanying you to appointments;
• Researching treatment options and care providers;
• Helping you understand and make medical decisions;
• Monitoring and supporting you while in hospital;
• Reviewing and organizing medical records; and/or
• Helping you to organize your “end-of-life” documents
so your wishes are known and followed.

Karin is not licensed as a medical doctor or nurse,
so she does NOT:
• Perform physical examinations or make medical diagnoses;
• Order diagnostic tests (although suggestions may be made);
• Refer to physicians directly (but referral lists are available);
• Prescribe medicine, supplements, or other treatments; or
• Provide second opinions.

If Karin accompanies you to an appointment:
• Prior to the visit, you will discuss your expectations and any concerns or questions you may have.
• During the visit, Karin will listen carefully, ask clarifying questions, and take notes.  
• Afterward, these notes will be reviewed to make sure you understand all that was said and what needs to be done next.
• By the next day, you will be provided with a written summary. 

Advocates do not substitute for your relationship with your doctor; rather, we offer complementary service by providing personal attention, promoting clear communication with your entire healthcare team, and steering around obstacles to ensure you receive the best care.

A client said:
"I can't imagine going through this without you. You helped make sure I got the right care and I understood everything because of your help."

As a healthcare advocate, Karin helps providers ensure that patients with significant medical issues are able to understand, process and analyze information in order to better understand their care choices and make treatment decisions.  

The advocate's goal is to make medical providers' jobs easier and patient care more efficient -- not to function as a second opinion or a parallel system. 

All providers are pressed to see more patients in less time, so it can be very difficult to coordinate all the care that some of your complex patients need, or to provide education and discussion that most patients desire. The vast majority of these situations are beyond the time allotment for primary care physicians as well as specialty providers. 

Karin has the time to gather details and history from patients who want to tell you their whole story. She then summarizes the pertinent data so you can quickly access what you need. 

Karin also supports health literacy and "translates" the medical language which can be foreign to patients not familiar with the medical field. She help patients learn about their condition/disease and their options, helps with the coordination of care, and ensures your treatment instructions are followed. 

In this role, Karin is an advocate, not a healthcare provider.  Therefore:
• She does not medically examine, diagnose, or treat patients.
• She does not prescribe medications or treatments.
• She may accompany patients, but they remain under your care.
• She does not take insurance, so patients’ deductible, copay, or any other aspect of their insurance coverage won't be affected.  

Most physicians welcome the collaboration with someone who can take on the role of providing patient education and coordination with other providers. 

A local geriatrician said:
"Your information was incredibly helpful. I've never seen a letter like this. It really helped me understand the situation at home."