Preventing Hospital Readmissions - How We Can Help

For people with chronic illnesses and complicated cases, a patient advocate can be especially important. These individuals often have a lot of questions and concerns related to their health, and thus may need extra help and guidance to manage their care.

Questions often arise about the patient’s diagnosis and prognosis itself, treatment options, the necessity of following medication schedules, medication interactions, special diets, recommended exercise or activity programs, or follow up care.  A patient advocate can help answer all these questions, sorting through overwhelming amounts information to create manageable instructions, and using clear language to make even the most esoteric information understandable to both patients and their caregivers.

One of the main benefits of patient advocacy, especially in complex cases, is that it helps prevent readmissions to the hospital. Health-care providers become less available to answer questions once patients are discharged. Information that may have been conveyed clearly in person is now buried in stacks of paperwork with no opportunity for follow up questions, so patients and their caregivers may not fully understand what they need to do to take care of themselves at home.

A patient advocate can help them understand the instructions and make sure they have the resources they need to follow through on them. This can include making sure patients have all their medications and are taking them correctly, scheduling follow-up appointments, and providing them with answers and any other information they need to stay healthy. By providing this support, a patient advocate can help patients prevent avoidable complications and reduce the likelihood of being readmitted to the hospital.