- Categories:
- Cause
- Tags:
- AwarenessSafety
- Where:
- United States
- Date change rule:
- Every August 19
- Holiday emoji:
- 🏥
National Patient Advocacy Day, on August 19th, aims to spotlight the importance of patients raising their voices to advocate for their own healthcare and for those who care for them and advocate on their behalf. The day serves to encourage and remind patients and caregivers to take the next step in raising their voices to improve their healthcare journey.
How You Can Mark the Day:
- Call your healthcare team: Take one step to improve your healthcare experience
- Learn more: Research what patient advocacy groups supporting your needs offer for patient education
- Contact a patient advocacy group: Get involved and share your story to help guide others who might need support
It’s no secret that engaging the healthcare system can be complicated and difficult to navigate. Patient advocacy is essential to achieving optimal patient outcomes and alleviating suffering. Patient advocacy is an integral part of improving healthcare results!
History of National Patient Advocacy Day
Patient advocacy is a key function in the healthcare ecosystem that focuses on advocating for patients, survivors, and caregivers. A patient advocate can be a person or group whose efforts are centered around one or multiple disease states. In the United States, patient advocacy became prominent in the 1950s, with cancer research and treatment. However, patients and their families raised ethical concerns about the diagnostics, treatment techniques, and clinical research undertaken in the early days of cancer treatment. In this medico-legal and ethical debate, the practice of advocacy emerged to support and represent patients.
As the Patient Rights movement grew in the United States, the 1970s were a pivotal period for patient activism. For example, the National Welfare Rights Organization’s (N.W.R.O.) materials for a patient’s bill of rights influenced many other organizations and writings at the time, including the Joint Commission’s hospital accreditation requirements in 1970 and the American Hospital Association’s Patient Bill of Rights in 1972.
Individual patient advocacy gained traction in the United States in the early 2000s and ten years later in Australia. The profession is now regarded as a mainstream alternative for improving hospital and community-based healthcare outcomes.
National Patient Advocacy Day timeline
Patient advocacy begins in the United States because of advances in cancer research and treatment.
The Patient Rights movement grows in the U.S.
The National Welfare Rights Organization (N.W.R.O.) writes the American Hospital Association's Patient Bill of Rights.
DECO Recovery Management established National Patient Advocacy Day.
National Patient Advocacy Day FAQs
What does healthcare advocacy entail?
Healthcare advocacy entails tasks such as improving access to care, navigating the system, organizing resources, addressing health inequities, influencing health policy, and bringing about systematic change.
What are the challenges of patient advocacy?
Insufficient time to contact patients, lack of support, restricted communication, and lack of enthusiasm/urgency.
What are the crucial aspects of patient advocacy?
Human dignity must be preserved, patient equality must be promoted, and suffering must be alleviated.
Why National Patient Advocacy Day is Important
Keeps patients medically informed
Patient advocacy gives people a voice and helps them stay informed about their medical treatment. It keeps them up to date on the treatment and procedures they are receiving. It makes it easier to handle medical emergencies.
Helps reduce patient anxiety
It enhances therapy effectiveness and health outcomes. Listening, especially when paired with proactive communication, can help patients feel less anxious.
It protects patients' rights
Many patients are unable to advocate for themselves because they are overwhelmed by medical jargon and services. Patient advocates assist them in making decisions and remind them of their patient rights.
