How Can Patient Navigators Help Me Access Cancer Care?

On July 10th, as part of HealthTree’s Webinar Program, Electra Paskett, PhD, from Ohio State University, shared how patient navigators can help you overcome barriers to accessing healthcare. Watch the event's recording below or read the summary. 

What Obstacles Do Patients Face to Accessing Healthcare? 

Patients often face obstacles when trying to receive healthcare. Some of these include: 

• Financial/insurance issues
• Transportation
• Language barriers
• Cultural fear or distrust of doctors
• Difficulty navigating the healthcare system
• Lack of access to basic needs like food, shelter, and utilities. 

These barriers can have several negative impacts such as patients not attending appointments, not getting the treatment they need, and experiencing poor health-related outcomes. 

How Can Patient Navigators Help You Overcome These Barriers? 

A patient navigator is a trained professional who can help you overcome obstacles keeping you from accessing healthcare. 

Examples of services a patient navigator can assist with include:

• Helping you find transportation to appointments
• Locating financial assistance to cover your medical costs
• Translating doctor appointments into your native language
• Reaching out to re-schedule a missed appointment

Audience Q&A 

During the event, Dr. Paskett answered several questions. Some of these included: 

• [37:17] Do most hospitals have patient navigators? 
• [40:00] What is the training process to become a patient navigator?
• [42:31]  Are patient navigator services free to patients? 

Click the timestamp links to listen to the answers to these questions in the event’s recording. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, patient navigators can help patients like you overcome obstacles associated with accessing healthcare. To review if your healthcare facility has a patient navigator, please ask your doctor. 

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