Paint a picture of the U.S. healthcare system and you see a complex network of clinics, hospitals and providers; a confusing array of payers; rising costs and increasing demand for services…and this is just the beginning. To its customers, the U.S. healthcare system can seem daunting; when these customers are sick, the system can seem overwhelming as these customers arguably have the most difficulty in accessing appropriate care. This is where patient navigators step in.
Patient navigators work with patients to improve both their access to coordinated health care and the quality of the care that they receive. The navigator’s challenge is help improve health outcomes. Navigators accomplish these goals by being the patient’s advocate within the health care system and by working with patients to help them adhere to their care plans. By helping patients to fully comprehend their diagnosis and its implications, by ensuring that they can understand and follow their treatment instructions, and by helping patients manage their medicines and communicate with their care team, navigators increase the likelihood that the care that is recommended is the care that is received. Navigators are crucial when it comes to transitions of care as they can help the patient arrange for home health care services, can find in-patient facilities for patients who cannot be discharged to their homes, can provide on-going patient education, and can work with the patient’s health insurance plan to facilitate coverage of needed services.
Navigators are especially important for patient populations that have social, geographic, or environmental barriers to accessing health care. Differences between patient populations in their ability to access care, in their ability to understand their illness, and in their ability to comprehend their role in managing their own health can lead to significant health disparities between populations . Navigators can help patients overcome many of the factors that make it difficult for patients to receive and participate in the health care that they need; culture, socioeconomic status, language, and education can each directly impact patients’ health and their understanding of the U.S. healthcare system.
By utilizing patient navigators, health care systems can avoid gaps in care that may result in potentially life-threatening situations, which could otherwise have been avoided. Using a navigator puts the patient at the center of care and ensures that their journey through the healthcare system will result in improved health.
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[i] Natale-Pereira A, Enard KR, Nevarez L, Jones LA. The role of patient navigators in eliminating health disparities. Cancer. 2011;117(15 suppl):3541-3550