Are you a medical professional who is looking to shift your career in a different direction?
Are you a social worker who would like to apply your skills to the healthcare field?
Are you a parent or child or spouse who has navigated healthcare on behalf of a loved one and would like to do that kind of work for others?
Are you an entrepreneur looking for a growing market niche?
Are you a neighbor or friend with time on your hands which you'd like to apply to helping others, perhaps as a volunteer?
Are you interested in a career in the health field and are exploring possibilities?
If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you may have the interest, skills, even the qualifications you need to be a patient advocate. Because there are so many aspects to patient advocacy, the range of backgrounds and interests of patient advocates is broad. That's good news if you're considering a job, career or volunteer position as an advocate.
"Patient advocacy" is considered an up-and-coming career. Entrepreneur Magazine and US News & World Report have both identified advocacy as a career that is coming into its own.
Here you will find some background information for those who wish to provide advocacy services in any of the following ways:
- Medical / Navigational Assistance (not the same as a Medical Assisting)
- Insurance Assistance
- Home Health Assistance
- Elder or Geriatric Assistance
Most of the information in this article describes a one-on-one relationship between a patient and the advocate, although in some cases the advocate may also work with the patient's family or others involved in the patient's care, too.
