Meet Your Healthcare Advocate
With more than 15 years of experience as a board-certified family physician in the Seattle and Chicago metropolitan areas, Dr. Vandenbosch has had the privilege of providing continuity of care for families—from office visit to hospital to skilled nursing facility.
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A personal reflection on patient advocacy
Years ago, my father survived an airplane accident resulting in two shattered lumbar vertebrae, a spinal cord injury and multiple lower-extremity fractures. Fortunately, he survived, and following months of surgeries and rehabilitation he learned to walk again, despite some permanent nerve damage and muscular atrophy. He gracefully adapted over time to the new normal, including a neurogenic bladder and bowel requiring urinary catheterization and eventually ileostomy. In short, his condition is medically complex, and aging has amplified his neurologic deficits, requiring a large medical team.
While accompanying him to his medical visits and hospitalizations, I learned the value of having a patient advocate at your side. I’ve been able to correct medication lists, fill in missing pieces of information from other specialists on the spot, ask relevant questions, and notice potential drug interactions. When this is done in a collaborative spirit, it is clearly helpful to the physician, too— saving them time, reducing unnecessary phone calls, and decreasing the risk of medical errors. In the extremely complex health care environment, I am uniquely qualified to provide this essential medical service.
With more than 15 years of experience as a board-certified family physician in the Seattle and Chicago metropolitan areas, Dr. Vandenbosch has had the privilege of providing continuity of care for families—from office visit to hospital to skilled nursing facility. Read more…
With more than 15 years of experience as a board-certified family physician in the Seattle and Chicago metropolitan areas, Dr. Vandenbosch has had the privilege of providing continuity of care for families—from office visit to hospital to skilled nursing facility. Read more…
Tina Vandenbosch, MD
Summit Healthcare Advocates
With years of experience as a board-certified family physician in the Seattle and Chicago metropolitan areas, Dr. Vandenbosch has had the privilege of providing continuity of care for families—from office visit to hospital to skilled nursing facility.
Read more…
With years of experience as a board-certified family physician in the Seattle and Chicago metropolitan areas, Dr. Vandenbosch has had the privilege of providing continuity of care for families—from office visit to hospital to skilled nursing facility. After graduating from the University of Washington School of Medicine, she completed a family practice residency program at Group Health Cooperative (now Kaiser Permanente) in Seattle, Washington, then practiced family medicine, including obstetrics, in Seattle followed by private practice in Hinsdale, Illinois. In addition, she provided chronic disease management and preventive care for medically underserved and immigrant communities as a physician volunteer at DuPage County Community Clinics.
“The most gratifying part of my practice has always been educating and communicating with patients, coordinating and collaborating with specialists, and advocating for patients. Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, including time constraints, overwhelming patient loads, insurance changes mandating a revolving door of physicians, the primary care physician’s role as the cornerstone of patient care, providing oversight, coordination, and continuity, has eroded dramatically over the past couple of decades.
“As a physician, I have had first-hand experience with the complexity of our healthcare system, including the fractures, gaps and stressors that compromise quality care. I firmly believe that every patient should have an independent advocate on their medical team to bridge communication gaps, coordinate care, and ensure understanding and a voice for well-informed decision making.After retiring from clinical practice, I felt that the logical next step was to fill this gap. I founded Summit Healthcare Advocates to help guide my clients safely through our complicated healthcare matrix to achieve their best possible outcome.”
(Membership logos….a few advocacy associations, American Board of Family Medicine, speaker’s network for Campaign Zero – for presentation on How to be Safe and Sound in the Hospital. WASHAA Speaker’s bureau – for presentation of The ABC’s of an Effective Doctor Visit.)
A personal reflection on patient advocacy
Years ago, my father survived an airplane accident resulting in two shattered lumbar vertebrae, a spinal cord injury and multiple lower-extremity fractures. Fortunately, he survived, and following months of surgeries and rehabilitation he learned to walk again (Read more)
Photo of Dad?
A personal reflection on patient advocacy
Years ago, my father survived an airplane accident resulting in two shattered lumbar vertebrae, a spinal cord injury and multiple lower-extremity fractures. Fortunately, he survived, and following months of surgeries and rehabilitation he learned to walk again, despite some permanent nerve damage and muscular atrophy. He gracefully adapted over time to the new normal, including a neurogenic bladder and bowel requiring urinary catheterization and eventually ileostomy. In short, his condition is medically complex, and aging has amplified his neurologic deficits, requiring a large medical team.
While accompanying him to his medical visits and hospitalizations, I learned the value of having a patient advocate at your side. I’ve been able to correct medication lists, fill in missing pieces of information from other specialists on the spot, ask relevant questions, and notice potential drug interactions. When this is done in a collaborative spirit, it is clearly helpful to the physician, too— saving them time, reducing unnecessary phone calls, and decreasing the risk of medical errors. In the extremely complex health care environment, I am uniquely qualified to provide this essential medical service.
Why should you hire a professional healthcare advocate?
“The complexity of the healthcare system has given rise to a new professional: the patient advocate. This person is often a nurse, social worker, geriatric care manager or other healthcare professional who can help you navigate the healthcare system, including dealing with clinicians, understanding your condition and treatment options…Such an individual could be a good option if you don’t have a good personal advocate.”
~ Johns Hopkins Medicine
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https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/the-power-of-a-health-care-advocate