Ground-Breaking Professional Patient Advocate Institute Launches to Provide Consumers with Better Health Care

ROCKVILLE, Md., Nov. 12, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Dorland Health today announced the launch of The Professional Patient Advocate Institute (PPAI), a membership organization and community aligned around the common cause of providing advocacy for consumers as they strive to secure their healthcare needs and cover complex insurance and financial matters.

PPAI is a division of Dorland Health, a leading information provider among case managers, clinical nurses, social workers and care coordination professionals with brands such as Case in Point, Case Management Resource Guide and dorlandhealth.com. The Institute is housed online at www.patientadvocatetraining.com

Through education, training and idea sharing, PPAI is designed to help patient advocates navigate the healthcare system for their patients and patients' families. The Institute serves both independent practitioners -- such as clinical nurses who are starting their own advocacy practice -- and healthcare and other professionals working within a hospital or employer organization. An intensive training program for advocates leads to a Certificate in Patient Advocacy, which will serve as the imprimatur for patients and their families seeking reputable advocates.

"The time is now to elevate the position of the patient advocate to ensure that consumers are getting the best possible care at a fair price," said Diane Schwartz, senior vice president of PPAI and Dorland Health. "We can all relate to circumstances in which a knowledgeable advocate could have made the difference in one's healthcare situation. PPAI is designed to be the central place of learning smart patient advocacy and taking that knowledge straight to the patient."

PPAI offers news, analysis, resources, tools and training for members and nonmembers. The certificate program is being led by healthcare educators Catherine M. Mullahy, RN, BS, CRRN, CCM, president of Mullahy & Associates, and Jeanne Boling, MSN, CRRN, CDMS, CCM, vice president of Mullahy & Associates. A distinguished advisory board includes professionals from all sectors of healthcare, including insurance, legal and financial planning sectors.  Find out more at www.patientadvocatetraining.com.  Other members of the PPAI team include Associate Publisher Carol Brault and Anne Llewellyn, editor in chief of Dorland Health, who will oversee the expansive content offerings at PPAI.

ABOUT PPAI and DORLAND HEALTH

The Professional Patient Advocate Institute (www.patientadvocatetraining.com) is a for-profit organization with main offices in Rockville, MD and New York, NY.  It is part of Dorland Health, which is a division of Access Intelligence, a business information company with market-leading brands such as Contexo Media (serving medical billing and coding professionals), PR News, Media Industry Newsletter, CableFAX, Defense Daily, The Satellite Show, Trade Fair Group and more. Visit Access Intelligence at www.accessintel.com and Dorland Health at www.dorlandhealth.com.

For an interview with Diane Schwartz or Catherine Mullahy, contact Hope Kabik at [email protected]

For information about partnering with PPAI, contact Carol Brault at [email protected].

SOURCE Dorland Health