{"id":46886,"date":"2018-01-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-01-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skolnicklaw.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-medical-advocate-and-do-you-need-one\/"},"modified":"2025-01-26T08:00:40","modified_gmt":"2025-01-26T13:00:40","slug":"what-is-the-purpose-of-a-medical-advocate-and-do-you-need-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skolnicklaw.com\/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-medical-advocate-and-do-you-need-one\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the purpose of a medical advocate and do you need one?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re suffering from any sort of chronic illness, sudden shift in your health or need surgery, you may need an advocate to keep from becoming one of the thousands of people that are victimized by medical mistakes each year.<\/p>\n<p>You can be your own medical advocate, if you\u2019re up to the task. If not, you can ask a close friend or relative to step in.<\/p>\n<p><b>Why do you need a medical advocate? <\/b><\/p>\n<p>Consider these statistics:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Around 440,000 deaths happen in hospitals every year due to medical errors \u2014 although the true number is believed to be much higher due to collusion among medical professionals and institutions to keep their reputations intact.<\/li>\n<li>The \u201coptimum\u201d time for a primary care visit is considered 16 minutes. In reality, patients get about seven minutes of actual face time with their physician per visit.<\/li>\n<li>Patients have between one to five minutes to discuss any topic they raise. That\u2019s not exactly a lot of time to make major medical decisions or learn much about your condition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The facts all tell the same story: Patients have little time to interact with their physicians. Less time and a hurried physician can create a window of opportunity for <a href=\"\/practice-areas\/medical-malpractice\/\">major medical errors<\/a> to occur.<\/p>\n<p><b>How can a medical advocate help?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>If you are capable of divorcing yourself from the emotional impact of the \u201cwhite-coat syndrome\u201d that often leaves patients feeling awestruck and stressed when dealing with their doctors, you can be your own best advocate. If you can\u2019t, a friend or relative who isn\u2019t easily intimidated may be the better option.<\/p>\n<p>Whichever option you choose, being a medical advocate means:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Slowing the physician down and making certain that he or she takes the time necessary to adequately address any medical questions or concerns.<\/li>\n<li>Asking for additional information if it is needed.<\/li>\n<li>Asking for a referral if you think that the issue is really over your primary care\u2019s head.<\/li>\n<li>Stopping the doctor if he or she is prescribing a medication and hasn\u2019t fully explained the need for it or the potential risks.<\/li>\n<li>Letting the doctor know you aren\u2019t comfortable with a course of action.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Essentially, the role requires good communication skills and confidence \u2014 without anger or accusations \u2014 in order to establish a useful, cooperative relationship with the doctor.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes, medical errors happen despite everyone\u2019s best efforts. In that situation, it\u2019s probably wisest to explore your legal options.<\/p>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> Huffington Post, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/how-to-be-your-own-medical-advocate_us_5a5396bbe4b0f9b24bf3194d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How to Be Your Own Medical Advocate<\/a>,\u201d Deepak Chopra, Jan. 8, 2018<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re suffering from any sort of chronic illness, sudden shift in your health or need surgery, you may need an advocate to keep from becoming one of the thousands of people that are victimized by medical mistakes each year. You can be your own medical advocate, if you\u2019re up to the task. If not, you can ask a close&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-medical-malpractice","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.1 (Yoast SEO v24.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why You Need a Medical Advocate for Your Health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn why a medical advocate is crucial in today&#039;s healthcare system. 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