Patient advocates, armed with medical and legal savvy, help private patients get better care
Canada’s healthcare system is enviable in many ways, but it can also get very complicated. Managing a typical elderly patient’s case involves extreme organization, which can take a significant toll on the patient and their relatives. With more and more elderly Canadians requiring private care, case coordination is becoming more important than ever — and private consultants are stepping in.
A small but growing field of private advocates or navigators are helping elderly Canadians and their families sort through the intricacies of the private healthcare system, reports the Globe and Mail. While the public system also has navigators and case managers, they are typically limited to cancer care and employed by hospitals or health authorities.
Private patient advocates typically handle healthcare logistics for older, chronically ill patients whose adult children live far away. As point persons for care, they take on several duties, including reviewing medical records, meeting with healthcare providers, setting treatment goals, translating medical language, chasing down specialists, booking tests, and coordinating in-home care.
The navigators charge a fee for their service. Jana Bartley, founder of Toronto-based Integrity Healthcare Consultants, charges her clients $90 an hour. Based in Ottawa, Nurse On Board employs seven nurses to do case management; their clients pay $250 for an initial intake appointment, and between $100 and $125 an hour, which depends on whether clients pay a retainer fee.
It may seem steep, but many are happy to pay the price. “Adult children are reaching out to us,” said Susan Hagar, who founded Nurse on Board in 2015. “Often the sandwich generation is really suffering with the caregiving role.”
That was the case with Ethan Armit, a Sudbury mining technician. After suffering a heart attack in February 2016, his father, Allan, had to be brought to three different facilities over 11 months. The elderly Mr. Armit had a history of mental illness, and he lived in Kingston — a six-hour drive from his son, who had his own family to take care of.
After meeting with Hagar, the younger Mr. Armit agreed to hire a Nurse on Board worker. For an average of $1,500 a month, the patient advocate checked on Armit’s father, told the hospital to taper his medications, helped draft a legal letter when a hospital kept sedating him heavily, and translated medical jargon into lay language.
“I would have paid 10 times that for what they’ve done,” said the younger Armit.
Some healthcare providers are wary of private advocates, seeing them as a challenge or threat; seeking to avoid an adversarial situation, Hagar has started calling her workers “care managers.” Others, who recognize that case coordination can also be a burden for doctors and family caregivers, welcome the mediators.
“It’s a huge stress on the non-patient. They don’t know what they’re supposed to do,” said Ottawa-based physician Paul Hacker. “So if there was a navigator working with me on patients like that, I’d be happy.
“But those are sometimes the people who can least afford a private option,” he added.
Related stories:
New program helps rural Canadians find the best care: RBC Insurance executive
Employment insurance poll reveals call centre shortfalls
A small but growing field of private advocates or navigators are helping elderly Canadians and their families sort through the intricacies of the private healthcare system, reports the Globe and Mail. While the public system also has navigators and case managers, they are typically limited to cancer care and employed by hospitals or health authorities.
Private patient advocates typically handle healthcare logistics for older, chronically ill patients whose adult children live far away. As point persons for care, they take on several duties, including reviewing medical records, meeting with healthcare providers, setting treatment goals, translating medical language, chasing down specialists, booking tests, and coordinating in-home care.
The navigators charge a fee for their service. Jana Bartley, founder of Toronto-based Integrity Healthcare Consultants, charges her clients $90 an hour. Based in Ottawa, Nurse On Board employs seven nurses to do case management; their clients pay $250 for an initial intake appointment, and between $100 and $125 an hour, which depends on whether clients pay a retainer fee.
It may seem steep, but many are happy to pay the price. “Adult children are reaching out to us,” said Susan Hagar, who founded Nurse on Board in 2015. “Often the sandwich generation is really suffering with the caregiving role.”
That was the case with Ethan Armit, a Sudbury mining technician. After suffering a heart attack in February 2016, his father, Allan, had to be brought to three different facilities over 11 months. The elderly Mr. Armit had a history of mental illness, and he lived in Kingston — a six-hour drive from his son, who had his own family to take care of.
After meeting with Hagar, the younger Mr. Armit agreed to hire a Nurse on Board worker. For an average of $1,500 a month, the patient advocate checked on Armit’s father, told the hospital to taper his medications, helped draft a legal letter when a hospital kept sedating him heavily, and translated medical jargon into lay language.
“I would have paid 10 times that for what they’ve done,” said the younger Armit.
Some healthcare providers are wary of private advocates, seeing them as a challenge or threat; seeking to avoid an adversarial situation, Hagar has started calling her workers “care managers.” Others, who recognize that case coordination can also be a burden for doctors and family caregivers, welcome the mediators.
“It’s a huge stress on the non-patient. They don’t know what they’re supposed to do,” said Ottawa-based physician Paul Hacker. “So if there was a navigator working with me on patients like that, I’d be happy.
“But those are sometimes the people who can least afford a private option,” he added.
Related stories:
New program helps rural Canadians find the best care: RBC Insurance executive
Employment insurance poll reveals call centre shortfalls
