Guest blogger, author, and editor of the
Essential Public Health Series, Richard Riegelman MD, MPH, PhD, writes about the emerging career field known as "Health Navigator."
On July 4, the Washington Post featured a front page article, “Navigators’ for cancer patients: A nice perk or something more?” Perhaps the Post recognized that health navigators can provide “independence day” for patients with serious disease. The article and the comments provided numerous testimonials recognizing the “godsend” that health navigators can be for cancer patients. They also indicated that health navigators are being shown to be cost-effective at least for poorer patients.