Patient Advocate Case Examples
Case: 48 year old male, diagnosed 2 years ago with Hepatitis C, has been waiting for the newest treatment regime. The doctor has given him the prescription with all the potential side-effects, and now the patient is concerned about starting treatment. His question was: “How do I know if I will be the one to have all these side-effects?”
Patient-Advocate:
The answer was to give him education regarding side-effects, methods of dealing with them, and questions to ask his physician regarding the treatment, side-effects and alternatives. He was also given web sites to explore for further information.
CASE: 42 Year old female was diagnosed after having biopsy with breast cancer.
She was referred to us by her friend, a physician. Never having been in a Hospital before she had no idea of what to expect.
Patient-Advocate:
- Helped her obtain information about her diagnosis.
- Educated her on what portions of her medical records were important for her to have in her possession.
- Discussed her treatment plan, pre-op, surgery, and post-op.
- Help her coordinate her team of medical professionals that would be involved in her care.
- Met with her in the hospital before surgery, stayed with her family during surgery.
- Monitored her post operative care.
CASE : 48 year old female patient had a routine annual mammogram:
3 weeks later she received a letter from the clinic where the x-rays were done asking her why she had not returned for more test. She asked why she needed more “tests” and they gave her a vague answer. She schedule another visit to have “more tests”. She arrived for her appointment, and the tests were cancelled that day because of equipment malfunction. A week later she was once again scheduled for more tests. She was very frustrated. 3 hours later after having more mammograms with different views she was given some confusing information. At 6PM that night she was told she had a cyst, and that she should come back in 6 months for another breast ultra sound. At 8:30 PM she received a call from the Doctor telling her that she needed to have someone follow up with the cyst diagnosis. At 8:30 AM the next morning she received another call from the office assistant saying that she needed to see a surgeon.
Patient-Advocate:
- Accompanied the patient for her mammogram per her request
- Helped her arrange for a second radiology opinion and a biopsy.
- Assisted in coordinating her medical care team.
CASE: The son of a 79 year old man contacted us about obtaining some wound care for his father. His father had just had Melanoma surgery on his back, and was told by his doctor that he could make the 4 hour drive to visit his son and his new grand daughter for a few days if they could arrange for dressing changes, and post op wound monitoring
Patient-Advocate:
- Developed a wound care plan with his physician
- Helped arrange for a nurse to do the dressing changes twice a day.
The patient had a great visit with his family, and his surgical wound continued to heal nicely.
