Patient Advocacy and Parkinson’s
Andrea Malsom @myvoicetherapy and Andrea Rosenblume @HealthcarePathways
Strength in the Face of Parkinson’s - Podcast Episode 3
Listen as Andrea, Speech Pathologist of My Voice Speech Therapy, discusses the role of Patient Advocacy with Andrea Rosenblume of Healthcare Pathways. Andrea R. is a board certified Patient Advocate with her own private practice based in the San Francisco area. She uses her kind and passionate nature, along with her extensive training and experience as an adult-based Occupational Therapist to now care for her clients as their own cheerleader.
Excerpt
Andrea Malsom: Andrea, I really love talking with you the other day and hearing about your services and I jumped at the chance to interview you. I want people to know about the options that they have. We talked about how they don't know what they don't know. Well, there's patient advocates that can help you. That's amazing. And it's so valuable for people with Parkinson's, but also with any diagnosis. Would you like to share more about your resources and your experience?
Andrea Rosenblume: Absolutely. I have been a patient advocate with my own business for the past six years. And I was an occupational therapist for many years in the San Francisco bay area. And what I do is I help people navigate through the confusing, complex and overwhelming healthcare system. Whether it be in a doctor's office or a hospital, skilled nursing facility or any other healthcare setting.
I help people try to relieve the stressors and frustrations that they may feel when going through these complexities and frustrations in the, in our healthcare system. I help people in doctor's offices understand new diagnoses, new treatment plans, change of treatment plans. I also help them reach out to get a second opinion because often my clients don't realize that they have a right to a second opinion.
I help them understand treatment options and explain to them, as much as possible, what these options entail, risks and benefits, and also allow them to know that in their choice of options, they can decide to have no treatment. It is totally up to them to make these decisions.
I don't make the decisions for my clients, but I inform them so that they can make educated decisions that are meaningful to them and their medical condition.
Andrea Malsom: That is so wonderful. You are absolutely right. It's overwhelming. And it's a confusing process to go through the healthcare system here in America.
I really love the idea that you were an occupational therapist, turn Patient Advocate. Can you take a step back and explain the training that allows you to be this Patient Advocate for people?
[00:02:53] Andrea Rosenblume: Sure. As I mentioned, I was an occupational therapist for about 20 years. I always had the focus and goal of trying to help my patients reach a level of independence so that they could hopefully go back to their home environment and be able to live a quality type of life. Even if they also leaned on support from others for areas that they had challenges with. So that was really my goal, whether I was working in, in somebody's home or working in hospital settings or other settings.
It was great because I could see them in the hospital or facility and discharge them home, or I could go see them in the home, but it never went further than that. You know, what happens when they later face another ER, visit and hospitalization, or what happens when they go off to their doctor's offices?
You know, are they left on their own? Do they have support with them? I found through a personal experience with watching my parents and other people I knew going into hospitalizations or ERs that it was very difficult for them to speak their mind if they were feeling ill, very difficult for them to know what to ask for, to make them feel better.
They may not have had a friend or family member by their side. That's when I got into Patient Advocacy and decided this was something that I wanted to do and explored if it was an actual profession and it is. I got certified as a Patient Advocate through a board certification and I've been practicing ever since.
I practice as an independent private practitioner versus there are advocates in hospitals and they're employed by the hospitals.
Andrea Malsom: Yes, okay.
[00:04:40] Andrea Rosenblume: And so there is a difference. I wanted to have my allegiance for my client or the patient. I didn't want to run things by another regulatory system. And so that's why I, I entered private practice, but in a hospital there are advocates who will look out for patients and try to get their questions answered. But really it's an allegiance to the hospital. They're trying to lower any risks that the hospital may face. And so I feel like I can stand up to an institution more than somebody who's employed by an institution. So that's why I went the way of private practice.
Andrea Malsom: Yeah. I could see that. And I could see the value of that patient in the hospital, knowing that you are there and helping them through that process, or, you know, a phone call away or physically there and caring for them, knowing who they were before they came to the hospital.
Knowing their goals or unique situations that they're aware of, that they don't even think to mention to the healthcare workers. You can put the pieces together a little bit. I love that you go and can care for them and voice their needs.
I can see how a a healthcare professional has a lot of regulations that they have to follow in their hospital and then they're there to treat that medical incident. And you are someone that can help them through it.
It's like you're a family member in a way.
Where they were beforehand and this visual of what their life is like. And then you bring that with them because the patient in the hospital is just stripped down.
They're, they're in a medical distress, they are in an unfamiliar place. They have these strange interactions with these people. It's not this full conversation. You can't spend an hour with everybody and you don't wanna tell your story over and over again.
Am I correct that you can go into the hospital with them?
[00:06:31] Andrea Rosenblume: Yes, I can absolutely go into the hospital and that's often the only advocate or person, for that patient.
And so they will allow me in. Oftentimes the patient will add my name to the medical chart so that the doctors can talk to me.
And share information with me. And then I can be involved in the team meetings there, too.
[00:06:57] Andrea Malsom: Oh yeah, that is wonderful. Yeah. How does the hospital respond to your role?
Andrea Rosenblume: Very good question. Because I was uncertain as to, you know, how I would be received when I first started doing advocacy and I have not had any resistance. I like to tell people who I am and how I know the patient. I go in and I share that, you know, I've been working with this patient, this is what's going on. And I'm really there as sort of like an added on member of their team. I like to work with them and that helps them actually, because they learn from me the nuances about the patient and maybe what goes on in their home life, or if they have any family. Things that I can share that the patient just, you know, they're not feeling well. They don't feel like talking. They don't feel like sharing and maybe they're under medication and they can't, you know, think it's clearly.
I can be their eyes and ears and be able to be part of the team. And that's what I, I really explain that to the doctors, I'm part of your team and this is what I know and how can I help you? And they seem to really appreciate it. Even when I go into doctor's appointments, on an outpatient basis, you know, my client introduces me. Lets them know that I'm I'm there and I'm willing to help them. And I'm not in an adversarial role, I'm there as part of team.
[00:08:16] Andrea Malsom: Yeah, I love it. I love that. That's so wonderful. I could definitely see how if there's any confusion with understanding the patient's situation or discharge plan, or, you know, what's happening, there's a social worker and patient advocate in the hospital, but knowing that you're a part of the team, they can call you, they can contact you as well to confirm things. If they see your friendly face, they can absolutely chat with you to say like, oh yes, you are. You are another page in this story that this healthcare provider can see of the patients experience in their situations that they have to go through in their life.
The patient doesn't wanna go through the whole story with everybody all the time.
Andrea Rosenblume: Right? Exactly. Exactly.
Andrea Malsom: And they don't know. What's the important facts to share with the healthcare providers you, with your medical background, with your occupational therapy background, you can connect those dots and get right to the point, while making sure that you're advocating for the patient's needs. And then I love the idea that you're also then educating the patient and probably even their family members, you know, and giving them that extra time to understand, comprehend, ask questions, identify what questions to ask next time. And just give that bridge for them and I love it.
Contact
Andrea’s Instagram • Andrea Rosenblume's Advocacy Instagram
You can also find her at healthcare-pathways.com