Care Navigation, Advocacy & Medicare Programs

Why Advocates Matter for Your Care

What a healthcare advocate does

A healthcare advocate is a trusted partner who helps you prepare for visits, understand choices, ask questions, and follow your plan. An advocate can be a family member, friend, caregiver, or a trained professional. The goal is not to replace your medical team but to help you participate more fully so decisions match your goals and values. Understood Care advocates provide personalized support and coordination tailored to your needs and you can get started by calling (646) 904-4027 or signing up at https://app.understoodcare.com.

Everyday tasks an advocate can handle

When a professional advocate is helpful

Consider professional support if you live with multiple conditions, take many medicines, manage frequent referrals, face language or health literacy barriers, or have had repeat emergency visits or readmissions. Trained navigators and care coordinators are skilled at removing barriers and aligning many moving parts of care.

How advocates improve safety and outcomes

Safer care through real partnership

Healthcare is safer when patients and families are treated as partners. Engaging patients and care partners helps prevent problems like falls and communication errors and can improve quality. Advocates make it easier to speak up, clarify instructions, and use teach back so you feel confident about next steps.

Fewer avoidable readmissions during care transitions

The time around hospital discharge is high risk. Evidence based discharge models show that coaching patients and caregivers, reconciling medicines, scheduling timely follow up, and sharing a simple plan can reduce readmissions. An advocate helps you prepare questions, understand warning signs, and confirm that the home plan is clear and doable.

Better understanding with focused questions

Simple frameworks such as Ask Me 3 guide you to ask what your main problem is, what you need to do, and why it matters. Advocates can use this approach during visits and at discharge so you leave with clear, prioritized action steps.

Medication safety and reconciliation

Advocates help you keep a current medication list, bring it to every visit, and review changes after hospital stays. This supports medication reconciliation, which reduces mistakes, interactions, and duplicate therapy. When something is confusing or side effects show up, an advocate helps you contact the care team quickly and share specific details.

Navigation support improves access and equity

Patient navigation programs in many settings, including cancer care and primary care, show improvements in access to screening, timely treatment, and selected outcomes, especially for people facing complex barriers. Advocates help with appointments, transportation, childcare arrangements, and paperwork so plans move forward without delays.

Advocates and your rights

Who can attend visits and receive information

Federal privacy rules allow your clinicians to share information that is directly relevant to your care with family, friends, or other people you identify as involved in your care, unless you object. You can also designate a personal representative who has the same rights to information as you. Knowing these options helps you put your advocate in the room, in person or by phone, when it matters.

Your access to records

You have a right to timely access to your medical information. Federal rules on information blocking are designed to ensure patients can get electronic health information. An advocate can help you request notes, test results, and visit summaries, keep them organized, and share them with your other clinicians when needed.

Preparing to use an advocate

Before the visit

  • List your top three goals and questions
  • Write a brief symptom timeline, including what helps and what makes it worse
  • Gather your medication list including dose and schedule
  • Confirm whether you want your advocate to listen, take notes, or speak for you

During the visit

  • Start with your goals for today
  • Ask for plain language explanations and use teach back to confirm your understanding
  • Review next steps, follow up plans, and who to call with questions
  • Confirm any changes to medicines, doses, or timing

After the visit and between visits

  • Update your medication list and calendar with follow up and lab dates
  • Watch for warning signs that need a call
  • Share visit notes with other members of your care team
  • Ask for help if transportation, cost, or other barriers might delay your plan

An Understood Care advocate can help with all of this by preparing your notes, joining the visit if you wish, and coordinating follow up so your plan stays on track.

Choosing an advocate

Get matched with a trained healthcare advocate who coordinates your care, prepares you for visits, reviews medicines, and helps with benefits. Start online or by phone. Ongoing support by video or phone from home:

  • 🧭 Quick start
    Book your first visit online or by phone. Share a few details so we understand your needs and preferences.
  • 📞 Welcome call
    Tell us your goals, symptoms, and current medicines. With your permission we gather records and pair you with the right Understood Care advocate and clinician.
  • 🧩 Personalized plan
    Your team creates a clear plan, sets communication preferences, and coordinates with your clinicians, pharmacy, and health plan. We document everything and keep your lists up to date.
  • 🔄 Ongoing support
    Get regular check ins by phone or video, visit preparation, medication reviews, benefits help, and follow through on referrals. We share updates with your care team so nothing falls through the cracks.

Choosing your advocate:

We match you with a trained advocate based on your condition, language, and preferences. Your advocate can join visits, ask questions you approve, coordinate across clinics, help with benefits, and arrange services at home.

Ready to begin:
Sign up at https://app.understoodcare.com or call (646) 904-4027

How Understood Care advocates support you

Advocates at Understood Care can coordinate complex care, prepare you for appointments, organize communications across providers, and help with costs and benefits. If you need transportation for visits, help reviewing bills, or support arranging home care, an advocate can take those tasks off your plate. If you are living with a chronic condition, we help you keep a steady routine of checkups, tests, and follow up so small issues do not turn into bigger ones.

Related pages you may find helpful include Care Coordination, Appointments, Transportation Help, Analyze Bills, Communication, Home Care, and Chronic Care.

When to seek urgent help

Call your clinic’s urgent line or 911 for signs of medical emergencies such as trouble breathing, chest pain, severe weakness, or confusion. An advocate can help with planning and coordination, but emergencies need immediate medical care.

FAQ: How Healthcare Advocates Support Your Care

  • What is a healthcare advocate
    A healthcare advocate is a trusted partner who helps you prepare for visits, understand your choices, ask questions, and follow your care plan. An advocate can be a family member, friend, caregiver, or a trained professional. The goal is to support you so care decisions match your goals and values, not to replace your medical team.
  • How can a healthcare advocate help me day to day
    An advocate can
    • Help you list your questions and concerns before visits
    • Join appointments to take notes and help you ask clear questions
    • Keep an up to date medication list and share it with your care team
    • Track test results, referrals, and follow up tasks
    • Coordinate transportation, scheduling, and reminders
    • Help you access your records and patient portals
    • Offer emotional support when decisions feel stressful
  • When should I consider using a professional advocate
    Professional support can be especially helpful if you
    • Have multiple chronic conditions or see many specialists
    • Take several medicines and have frequent changes
    • Have many tests, referrals, or hospitalizations
    • Face language or health literacy barriers
    • Have had repeat emergency visits or readmissions
    Trained navigators and care coordinators are skilled at removing these barriers and keeping your care organized.
  • How do advocates make care safer
    Advocates help you become an active partner in care. They encourage you to speak up, ask questions, and use teach back so you can repeat the plan in your own words. This helps prevent problems such as medication errors, missed follow up, falls, or confusion about instructions.
  • Can advocates help during hospital discharge or care transitions
    Yes. The time around hospital discharge is a high risk period. An advocate can
    • Review your discharge instructions with you
    • Make sure medication changes are clear and your list is updated
    • Help schedule follow up appointments
    • Clarify warning signs and who to call if problems arise
    This kind of coaching and coordination can reduce avoidable readmissions.
  • What is medication reconciliation and how does an advocate support it
    Medication reconciliation is the process of comparing your current medicine list with new prescriptions or hospital orders to catch mistakes or duplications. Advocates help you
    • Keep a single, accurate list with doses and timing
    • Bring that list to every visit
    • Review it after hospital stays or new prescriptions
    If something is unclear or side effects appear, they help you contact the care team quickly with specific details.
  • How do advocates improve access and reduce barriers
    Advocates and navigators can
    • Schedule and reschedule visits and tests
    • Arrange transportation and reminders
    • Help with forms, insurance questions, and benefits
    • Coordinate child care or caregiver coverage when needed
    This support helps you complete recommended screening, start treatment on time, and avoid delays caused by logistics.
  • Can my advocate attend visits and receive information about my care
    Yes, if you want that. You can tell your clinicians who you want involved in your care. With your permission, they can share information that is directly related to helping with your care and planning. You can also designate a personal representative who has formal rights to information and can help make decisions if needed.
  • Do I still have a right to see my own medical records if I use an advocate
    Yes. You always have the right to timely access to your medical information. An advocate can help you request notes, test results, and visit summaries, keep them organized, and share them with other clinicians when needed. They do not replace your rights, they help you use those rights more easily.
  • How do I work with an advocate before, during, and after a visit
    Before the visit
    • List your top three goals and questions
    • Write a brief symptom timeline including what helps and what makes it worse
    • Gather your medication list with doses and timing
    • Decide whether you want your advocate mostly to listen, take notes, or speak up for you
  • During the visit
    • Start by sharing your goals for today
    • Ask for plain language explanations
    • Use teach back: repeat instructions in your own words to confirm understanding
    • Review next steps, follow up plans, and who to call with questions
    • Confirm any changes to medicines, doses, or timing
  • After and between visits
    • Update your medication list and calendar with follow up dates
    • Watch for warning signs that need a call
    • Share visit notes with other members of your care team
    • Ask for help if cost, transportation, or paperwork might delay your plan
  • How does Understood Care provide advocacy
    Understood Care matches you with a trained advocate and clinician who
    • Coordinate your care across providers and clinics
    • Prepare you for appointments and help organize questions
    • Review medicines and help with benefits and prior authorizations
    • Arrange transportation, home care, and other services if needed
    • Track referrals and follow up so nothing falls through the cracks
    You can get started by signing up at https://app.understoodcare.com or calling (646) 904-4027.
  • How do I choose the right advocate for me
    When choosing an advocate or service, consider
    • Your top needs: appointments, bills, caregiver support, chronic condition management, or recovery after a hospital stay
    • Their training, experience, and scope of services
    • How they will communicate with your clinicians
    • Availability through your health system, community programs, or private services
    Look for someone who listens well, explains clearly, respects your preferences, and is willing to work as part of your care team.
  • Can an advocate help in an emergency
    Advocates can help you plan ahead for emergencies, but they are not a substitute for emergency care. If you have trouble breathing, chest pain, severe weakness, confusion, or other signs of a medical emergency, call 911 or your local emergency number right away. Afterward, an advocate can help with follow up, records, and coordination.

References

Related Understood Care resources

This content is for education only and does not replace professional medical advice. If you have new weakness, severe pain, fever with confusion, chest pain, or trouble breathing, call emergency services.

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