June 1, 2017 - In 2010, patient advocacy was named a "career of the next decade" by Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. "The goal of patient advocacy is to remove barriers to care by giving patients more choice and control in their health care decisions," says Io Dolka, the executive director of Washington State Health Advocates Association. The profession has many facets — from helping educate patients and their families about a...
November 18, 2016 - Advocates know too well that the process of healthcare sometimes loses sight of the person at the heart of it. NAHAC, the National Association of Healthcare Advocacy Consultants, supports advocates as we bring the focus of care back where it should be. NAHAC's 2016 National Conference theme is "Shifting the Paradigm: Advocates foraPerson-CenteredHealthcareSystem." Overthreedays,beginningWednesday, November 16, advocates are invited to share thought-provoking perspectives on: ...
October 3, 2016 - Learning from Experience Few people understand that more than Io Dolka, a founding board member of the Washington State Health Advocacy Association and patient advocacy organization GreyZone. As a patient, Dolka experienced errors in surgeries to remove brain tumors twice within a span of five years. In 2010, following the first surgery, she had to go back to the hospital because of...
January 1, 2016 - Neurogenic Bladder and Bowel are conditions in which a person lacks bladder and bowel control due to a brain, spinal cord, or nerve condition. Millions of Americans live with this debilitating health issue. In 2009 JoAnne Lake was diagnosed with Neurogenic Bladder, finally discovering the cause of years of discomfort and embarrassment. Writing became her therapy and a way...
June 11, 2015 - For patients, misdiagnosis usually brings about fear, frustration, disappointment, sadness and many times anger; lots of it. For providers, it can involve exactly the same emotions along with a feeling of shame and isolation as the healthcare system has not yet fully embraced the concept that to err is–truly–human. Misdiagnosis affects 12 million people in the...