Private Professional Patient Advocates Week

Patient advocates and navigators are my heroes.

As such, I am thrilled to announce the first Private Professional Patient Advocates Week (planned to be an annual event) – a week of recognizing the talents and contributions of the several hundred private patient advocates across the US and Canada.

“Thrilled” may actually not be strong enough.

Over the past couple of years, I have had the privilege of meeting dozens of private advocates – people who are dedicating to smoothing the difficult path through the healthcare system. They lead their charges to improved health, they protect them from medical errors and infections, they help their patients learn and understand more about their diagnoses and treatment options, they explain pros and cons to help patients make choices, they juggle appointments among providers and review medications to be sure conflicts aren’t creating problems when the intent was the opposite. Then they save them money or at least make sure it’s being spent wisely.

And that all happens before lunchtime.

It seems like a week isn’t enough time to provide due honor. Patient advocates and navigators devote their lives to improving the lives of others. There is no more noble calling.

Please join me in recognizing the accomplishments and hard work these heroes perform on a daily basis.

Learn more about Private Professional Patient Advocates Week at its website.

Meet this year’s featured advocates and read stories about some of the patients they have helped.

Let us know by making a comment what you appreciate about private patient advocates and navigators, too.