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How Can Patient Navigators Help Me Access Cancer Care?

Posted: Aug 01, 2024
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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. 

Become a Cure Contributor by Joining HealthTree Cure Hub!

We invite you to click the button below to create your free HealthTree Cure Hub account. This will provide you access to several helpful resources, such as participating in research-accelerating surveys, finding side-effect solutions, accessing clinical trials, and more!

CREATE YOUR FREE HEALTHTREE CURE HUB ACCOUNT

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. 

Become a Cure Contributor by Joining HealthTree Cure Hub!

We invite you to click the button below to create your free HealthTree Cure Hub account. This will provide you access to several helpful resources, such as participating in research-accelerating surveys, finding side-effect solutions, accessing clinical trials, and more!

CREATE YOUR FREE HEALTHTREE CURE HUB ACCOUNT

The author Megan Heaps

about the author
Megan Heaps

Megan joined HealthTree in 2022. As a writer and the daughter of a blood cancer patient, she is dedicated to helping patients and their caregivers understand the various aspects of their disease. This understanding enables them to better advocate for themselves and improve their treatment outcomes. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, sewing, and cooking.

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