Duties Include, but not limited to: Provide psycho-social support/encouragement to both study participants and family/significant others Provides information regarding cancer, cancer screening and resources to address barriers Provides pre-appointment reminders for cancer screening/treatment/remission maintenance appointments Assists with Medicare insurance Arranges transportation/referral to transportation services Track interventions and outcomes Initiates communication with patients before screening and diagnostic procedures/treatments Informs patients of services and resources Increases health awareness in individuals The Patient Navigator will establish early …show more content…

By suggesting that patient navigators "have direct knowledge of the communities they serve," the Patient Navigator act presumes that patient navigators are culturally competent. Indeed, social workers have an ethical responsibility to demonstrate cultural competence. Social workers also have an ethical responsibility to promote patient self-determination. Patient self-determination is an issue that is largely absent from the public discussion about patient navigation, but it is a critical issue in practice. On the one hand, patient navigators are charged with helping patients obtain services. Moreover, their success is measured by the number of individuals who receive treatment. On the other hand, patients must be afforded the respect to make a final determination regarding their individual welfare. Social workers are well trained to balance these dual objectives. Patient navigators will routinely encounter private and confidential information; social workers have an obligation to respect patients' privacy and to protect the confidentiality of information obtained from them. Social work's ethical standards provide clear guidelines about proper conduct with protected information. In the absence of a professional