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Health Advocate |
Career OverviewHealth advocates are also called patient representatives and patient advocates. They work with patients and on patients’ behalf to resolve medically related issues. They might help a patient get insurance coverage, deal with complaints about medical staff, or explain a doctor’s treatment plan. Besides patients, health advocates deal with doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, health maintenance companies and government agencies. Health advocates work for hospitals, other health care facilities, nonprofit organizations, nursing homes and as independent contractors.
Health care has become an incredibly complex business. Health advocates use their health care expertise to promote the interests of patients whether in the doctor’s office or in the halls of government. Frequently they deal with insurance companies that do not want to cover certain treatments.
Health advocates must be persistent and have strong problem solving skills. They must constantly call upon their knowledge of medical and health administration to come up with solutions for new situations. Some health advocates might handle cases specifically involving a certain disease, such as cancer.
Often the patient the health advocate represents is significantly weakened by disease, so the advocate must provide both physical and emotional stamina. One of the most frustrating aspects of working in this profession is dealing with the bureaucracies of government agencies like Medicaid and Medicare.
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Career RequirementsHigh school students interested in becoming health advocates should take a broad range of classes to prepare for post-secondary studies. They will need courses in business, mathematics, health, biology, chemistry, English, government, psychology and computer science. They will also need to develop strong oral and written communications skills. It would be a very good idea to learn a second language, like Spanish.
Most employers prefer their health advocates to have at least a bachelor’s degree. Some students get degrees in premed, health administration, nursing or biology. Useful courses to take are management, communications, medical terminology and conflict resolution. Some schools have classes in patient representation. Course work for a master’s degree in health advocacy includes nature of illness, health law, position of the health advocate, ethics and fieldwork.
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Job OutlookThe health services industry will increase as the population ages and new medical technologies evolve. This is going to contribute to growth in the number of health advocacy jobs, simply because the number of patients will increase and the field of health services will become even more complex.
The field of health advocacy itself will become more established as more graduate programs are developed. A wide range of jobs will become available as certain areas of health advocacy develop subgroups over the next few years.
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Career TrackMany health advocates come to the profession from other areas, having experienced a sincere desire to work for the health and well being of others. They have formerly been involved in such things as community service work, volunteer positions at hospitals or working with the elderly.
Health advocates typically work for nonprofit organizations, but hospitals, specialty practices, and corporations supporting large health care plans for their employees have begun to hire health advocates. They are also finding employment with government agencies. Health advocates working as members of staff in a hospital can advance to department manager or other administrative positions.
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CompensationHealth advocates employed by hospitals earn from $40,000 to $60,000 a year. A self-employed health advocate or one working for a private firm will work for fees that vary from job to job. They charge flat fees of $75 to $150 to analyze insurance statements. If the advocate identifies any savings for the client, generally the client and the advocate split the savings. Advocates working for nonprofit organizations tend to be at the low end of the pay scale.
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