Navigating the Healthcare System with Grace Cordovano

By Dr. Jay Anders, Chief Medical Officer, Medicomp Systems
X: @MedicompSys
X: @medicompdoc
Host of Tell Me Where IT Hurts – #TellMeWhereITHurts

​When it comes to navigating U.S. healthcare, fewer patient experiences are more daunting, frustrating, and confusing than trying to keep all your providers on the same page. Grace Cordovano, PhD recognized this at a very young age––essentially acting as her family’s healthcare sherpa and translator––and has since become one of the nation’s preeminent patient care advocates.

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Ultimately, as Cordovano notes, the medical record remains the central source of truth. However, it can take 40 to 60 hours to aggregate one person’s medical records. The cancer diagnosis, the imaging, the pathology from multiple organizations, data from numerous providers––all must be collected in order to schedule the first appointment with a specialist. They need to see that information. But, Cordovano maintains, that 40 to 60 hours is unsustainable––and is actually the definition of insanity.

How is technology helping? And where are we in the quest to provide patients with the information, tools, and support they need to manage their care? Dr. Cordovano and I cover a lot of ground in this episode, including:

  • My personal anecdote about the struggle to get medical information to the right place at the right time
  • How navigating healthcare has been a highly personal, lifelong pursuit for Dr. Cordovano
  • The role of technology –– EHRs have not been the panacea for information exchange
  • Patient administrative burden
  • Moving beyond access for access sake to access for action’s sake
  • How patients can be empowered to own their data and health journey
  • 21st Century Cures…information blocking…VBC…QHINs…are they helping?
  • Open access AI tools stand to level the playing field for patients
  • Why patient advocates should rely on generative AI tools
  • Unblock Health’s approach to digitizing patient advocacy and health information management
  • How the Unblock Health model benefits providers as well
  • How can we make EHRs ‘smarter’? The future role of technology
  • The future of patient advocacy
  • “If you had a magic wand and could change anything in healthcare IT today, what would it be?”

Original source of content from Medicomp System’s blog and published here with permission.

Meet the Guest

Grace Cordovano, Healthcare Navigating Solutionist, Co-founder of Unblock Health
X: @UnblockHealth
LinkedIn: Grace Cordovano, PhD, BCPA
X: @GraceCordovano

A self-proclaimed knowledge seeker, patient administrative burden hacker, and clarity provider, Cordovano has dedicated her career to helping solve vexing healthcare information issues. Her latest venture, Unblock Health, offers a SaaS tool to address the barriers of patient-directed access.

About the Show

Join host Dr. Jay Anders as he sits down with experts from across healthcare and technology to discuss ways to improve EHR usability for end users. Dr. Anders and his guests explore opportunities to enhance clinical systems to make them work better for clinicians, reduce burnout, maximize revenue potential, and drive better patient care outcomes.

Join the conversation on Social Media at #TellMeWhereITHurts