Business idea
Not that there's much hope for actual revenue, but still. This idea is free for the taking.
This concept is to create a position much like a doula, except for injuries, and perhaps illnesses. While most people learn their health-care system fairly well after a week or two in it, there are plenty of things that can go wrong before then (especially in the crucial first 24 hours after an injury). This would be a person who would help guide the patient through difficult questions like:
- who is responsible for paying for this injury?
- Should it be filed as Worker's Comp, or a personal injury suit, or should regular healh insurance pay for it?
- Does this injury warrant getting a temporary handicapped parking permit? Often, patients don't realize that they are eligible for one, or don't even think about it, when it would make their lives so much easier.
- How (and when) is the patient going to get to work?
- How is the patient going to care for their child(ren)?
- Who will take over the patient's housework roles while the patient is recovering? These last three issues are often the hardest for families to deal with, and often an outside influence can be just the voice needed to help make order out of chaos.
The advocate would also help do things like monitor the level of care. When a patient gets a doctor's orders, they might not understand them, or won't always remember them when talking to another provider. It shouldn't be the patient's job to tell health care providers how to care for them, especially since often the patient does what the provider tells them to do regardless of whether it contravenes a previous order or not. The advocate would remind the patient about a previous set of doctor orders, if need be.
Then there are times when intervention is needed because a treatment simply is not working. The patient is often not in a position to recognize this, or does recognize it but is afraid to speak up because of the almost mystical reverence people have toward their care providers. The patient keeps going through the assigned procedures (like physical therapy) even when it is clear that they are not getting better. The advocate would help the patient remember to make a new appointment or speak up about the lack of resolution.
The advocate would also help with seemingly small things, like knowing where a given doctor's office is, and when to use a wheelchair (and how to get one, not always a trivial task), and knowing where to park, especially for larger clinics and hospitals. They would know where to get food when one is stuck in the ER or an OR waiting room for hours and hours, and where conveniences are like patient shuttles or covered walkways to parking garages.
This would not be a nurse, or any sort of medical professional, but rather be someone who knows how to 'work the system' for a given type of injury/illness.
I haven't entirely worked out where the revenue would come from for this person - possibly on a fee-for-service basis like a doula, or, in an almost-ideal world, from insurance who actually wanted their patients to get the best care (ok, stop laughing now).
This concept is to create a position much like a doula, except for injuries, and perhaps illnesses. While most people learn their health-care system fairly well after a week or two in it, there are plenty of things that can go wrong before then (especially in the crucial first 24 hours after an injury). This would be a person who would help guide the patient through difficult questions like:
- who is responsible for paying for this injury?
- Should it be filed as Worker's Comp, or a personal injury suit, or should regular healh insurance pay for it?
- Does this injury warrant getting a temporary handicapped parking permit? Often, patients don't realize that they are eligible for one, or don't even think about it, when it would make their lives so much easier.
- How (and when) is the patient going to get to work?
- How is the patient going to care for their child(ren)?
- Who will take over the patient's housework roles while the patient is recovering? These last three issues are often the hardest for families to deal with, and often an outside influence can be just the voice needed to help make order out of chaos.
The advocate would also help do things like monitor the level of care. When a patient gets a doctor's orders, they might not understand them, or won't always remember them when talking to another provider. It shouldn't be the patient's job to tell health care providers how to care for them, especially since often the patient does what the provider tells them to do regardless of whether it contravenes a previous order or not. The advocate would remind the patient about a previous set of doctor orders, if need be.
Then there are times when intervention is needed because a treatment simply is not working. The patient is often not in a position to recognize this, or does recognize it but is afraid to speak up because of the almost mystical reverence people have toward their care providers. The patient keeps going through the assigned procedures (like physical therapy) even when it is clear that they are not getting better. The advocate would help the patient remember to make a new appointment or speak up about the lack of resolution.
The advocate would also help with seemingly small things, like knowing where a given doctor's office is, and when to use a wheelchair (and how to get one, not always a trivial task), and knowing where to park, especially for larger clinics and hospitals. They would know where to get food when one is stuck in the ER or an OR waiting room for hours and hours, and where conveniences are like patient shuttles or covered walkways to parking garages.
This would not be a nurse, or any sort of medical professional, but rather be someone who knows how to 'work the system' for a given type of injury/illness.
I haven't entirely worked out where the revenue would come from for this person - possibly on a fee-for-service basis like a doula, or, in an almost-ideal world, from insurance who actually wanted their patients to get the best care (ok, stop laughing now).