January 1, 2008
Dear Fellow Health-care Consumers, Patients, and their Families:
I founded Health Advocacy Solutions so that patients and families grappling with complex health-care challenges could benefit from an impartial, comprehensive resource to help locate and evaluate useful information, make informed decisions, and assure the highest quality of care possible. I did so because I did not want others to suffer through the same frustrations and uncertainties that I did when navigating my own health-care struggles and those of friends and loved ones.
Although Americans benefit from some of the most advanced medical technology and know-how in the world, we face a daunting landscape of fragmented information, complex choices, and uneven quality of care when we turn to the health-care system. For those of us who are grappling with complicated or unusual situations, these challenges are especially acute.
Tackling these responsibilities effectively can make the difference between a best-possible outcome and a tragic one. In the age of the Internet, hyper-specialization of medicine, complex insurance arrangements, and the advent of the patient as “consumer,” we are now more responsible for our own health-care decisions than ever before. But championing our own best interest often requires considerable research, outreach, and coordination of expertise. And it is precisely during a health-care crisis that these demands are most difficult to meet.
There is no reason for patients and caregivers to struggle through these efforts alone. Around the country and world, impartial and highly skilled individuals and organizations—from independent researchers to insurance advocates to survivors’ groups—possess valuable skills and experience to share. But they work largely independently of one another, and are often difficult to identify in the sea of uneven information provided by different interest groups.
Health Advocacy Solutions seeks to overcome these obstacles by drawing together trustworthy knowledge and expertise to help patients,families, and communities assure high quality care for all Americans. We do so with an abiding commitment to rigorous research, transparency, and compassion for our clients—a commitment forged out of my own professional and personal experiences as a scholar, patient, and advocate.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you believe we can be of service. We are also committed to sharing the fruits of our insights through this web site as we continue to gather useful knowledge and resources.
Most sincerely,
Jason McNichol, PhD
President