Patient Advocate Service (Patient Empowerment)

Reno Concierge Coaching helps patients who are having trouble navigating the healthcare system and either can’t get diagnosed, can’t find the proper treatment, or are having a hard time understanding what their healthcare providers are telling them. We also work on insurance problems by helping you to find payment resources or navigate your payment systems. We focus on “Patient Empowerment”.

This service may be beneficial to you if any of this resonates with you:

• Do you feel rushed through doctors’ appointments?
• Do you leave your doctors’ appointments with unanswered questions?
• Do you struggle with not knowing what questions to ask your doctors to ensure you get proper medical treatment?
• Do you struggle with not knowing what questions to ask so that you fully understand your conditions, symptoms and treatment choices?
• Do you not fully understand what your doctors tell you -even when they repeat themselves?
• Do you feel as if your doctors are speaking a foreign language and you wish you had a translator?
• Do you think your medical treatment just isn’t working well?
• Have you suffered from medical errors or mistakes, like millions of others do each year?
• Do you wonder why we see ads on TV and in magazines for drugs we can’t purchase without a prescription?
• Do you want to learn more about your diagnosis?
• Do you think health care reform is either a savior – OR – a bad omen?
• Do you have any other questions about why your health and medical care just 
don’t seem to be working for you?
• Have you been told your undiagnosed symptoms are all in your head?
• Do you wonder why people get sicker and sicker from the drugs they take?
• Are you confused about your insurance bills? What they are saying? What do the codes mean? Why are they so expensive?
• Have you had billing errors or excessive charges that you are liable for?
• Is your insurance company currently resisting payment on treatments or services that you need or want?
• Has your insurance company denied payment on a necessary treatment or service that you have already received?

Healthcare isn’t as simple as it used to be. And getting the best care is becoming much more difficult.

Question: Wouldn’t it be nice to have a caring partner who can help you successfully and safely navigate through the healthcare system and receive the best care possible?

Answer: When you’re a member of Reno Concierge Coaching, you do.

When you have medical questions, insurance disputes, questions about coverage, even if you’ve been denied access for a certain medical procedure, Reno Concierge Coaching can help. We offer members such valuable services as:

• Physician & Surgeon Referral/Locator Services
• Insurance Disputes Resolution Assistance Services
• Physician & Laboratory Language Translation Services
• Prescription Drug Price Comparisons
• Medical Condition & Treatment Research
• Medical Treatment/Service Fee & Rate Negotiation
• Medical Tourism Research

Here are the TOP 10  mistake patients frequently make when trying to deal with the healthcare system:

Mistake 1: Thinking the Healthcare System is Focused on Helping Patients

Mistake 2: Thinking Doctors Put Patients’ Needs First

Mistake 3: Not Confirming Your Diagnosis

Mistake 4: Thinking You’ve Been Told About All Your Treatment Options

Mistake 5: Thinking You’re Safe In the Hands of the Healthcare System

Mistake 6: Not Understanding the Influence of Your Medical Records on Your Health and Your Wallet

Mistake 7: Spending Time in the Hospital Unless It’s Absolutely Necessary

Mistake 8: Using the Internet to Find Health Information Without a Compass

Mistake 9: Thinking that Medical Research Is Searching for Cures

Mistake 10: Letting the Media Influence Your Decisions Without Reading Between the Lines

Since we work for YOU and not an insurance company or hospital, our allegiance is entirely with you. We work for each individual patient since we are paid directly by the patient or by the patient’s family.  We will assist you through the diagnosis and treatment of disease -whether that means helping you coordinate with the necessary medical professionals, understanding your diagnosis or treatment recommendations, working with you to select treatment choices, obtaining permission from your insurer for special tests or treatments, or even helping you find the right doctors to help. We will also do our best to help you get your hospital billing straightened out. We are a great resource for patients who are having trouble figuring out where to turn as well as how to best save money.

Keep in mind that patient advocates are not always welcome or well-received by your medical providers. Providers often feel uncomfortable being scrutinized as they do their job. Our members are grateful and relieved for our services, but the medical and insurance professionals usually look at us with suspicion because they don’t understand the patient advocate’s job function.

However, these hurdles are often overcome by using our excellent communication skills and our focus on developing a healthy working relationship amongst all parties involved. Our allegiance is to you, but we work hard to make the other players feel as though we are an ally for them as well.

The navigational handholding we provide continues to become more valuable because the more unsettled healthcare becomes, the greater the need that patients have for using a patient advocate. As patients become increasingly frustrated with rushed appointments, leaving their doctors’ offices with remaining questions, and the frustrations over their experiences with their insurance companies, they are looking for the assistance of professionals like us who can help them navigate their care and/or help them manage their bills.