What is a healthcare navigator?

This is someone who can help show and guide you in your healthcare journey.

 

Why would I need a healthcare navigator?

You don’t need one if you are a simple healthcare consumer who occasionally contract the common cold. However, maybe you have just been told you have a rare or a complicated medical diagnosis. Or, it may not be a complicated diagnosis for others, but for you, it is and you are overwhelmed. Or your diagnosis may not be complicated but your situation is (example: you have just been diagnosed with early dementia but you are living by yourself and all your kids are out of state). Or you may still not have a diagnosis yet even after 5 years of diagnostic tests and seeing at least 10 doctors.

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Do I become your patient?

No. I become your healthcare navigator and NOT your healthcare provider. If you want (and only with your consent), I can work with your current healthcare provider/s if you have one (or several), or I can help you find one if you need one. 

 

Why would I go to you instead of other healthcare navigators in Austin?

Because I am the only healthcare navigator in Austin who is a licensed physician, board certified Internist, and actually practiced Internal Medicine in the Austin Metropolitan Area since 2010 (the year I started Internal Medicine residency training at University Medical Center at Brackenridge). I have worked with a lot of physicians, home health care agencies, skilled nursing facilities, long term care facilities, hospitals, physical & occupational therapy facilities, compounding & specialty pharmacies, and infusion centers in this area among other things. If you have a rare or complicated medical diagnosis, sometimes a 15-minute clinic appointment with your doctor is not enough to answer all your questions about what it is. If your healthcare navigator is not a physician, all she can do is maybe help you research what the diagnosis is on the internet or come up with questions for your next clinic visit. What if you still don’t have any diagnosis after 5 years of diagnostic testing? A non-physician healthcare navigator may not be of much help. In contrast, a physician healthcare navigator can work with your healthcare provider team to maybe finally figure out your case. 

 

Shouldn’t my current healthcare provider be already doing for me what you are offering? 

It is unfortunate but it is the reality that healthcare providers are under increasing pressure from the healthcare system to see more patients quicker. Therefore, they need to prioritize their patients’ needs during their 15-minute clinic visit. Usually, they prioritize the patients’ medical management unless it is glaringly obvious that there are things getting in the way of their medical management. It is not uncommon then that some patients leave after a doctor visit with more questions than when they first came in. Also, wouldn’t you rather have your healthcare provider focused on your medical management since you only have a limited time with him/her rather than him/her making sure you understood your medical condition and why you need to undergo a procedure or take a certain medication?

 

What are your fees?

Your initial 15-minute call is free. If you want, you can send me a message first (see: contact me). I will reply to your message via email within 1 business day to let you know if I think I can be of any help to you. You are under no obligation to call me after that. If you do decide to do the initial consultation call with me, we can discuss then in detail my fees and how I can best serve you. 

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Can I use my medical insurance to cover your fee?

No.

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