Support Systers, LLC -- News

Hunterdon Democrat
July 31, 2003

Health Care Aid Offered to Patients
by Curtis Leeds

Annandale, NJ – Ann Picardo wants to put management into “managed care” and help people get the medical care they deserve. The Pottersville resident with a master’s degree in social work and 15 years experience as a psychotherapist has founded a company called Support Systers. It provides one-on-one patient support to people under a doctor’s care.

“If you talk to doctors, they’ll usually tell you their biggest problem with patients is ‘non-compliance.’ The problem is with patients not following doctor’s orders,” she said.

Of course, most patients want to follow their doctor’s instructions. “But treatment today can be overwhelming” to patients, she said, who are often under the care of more that one physician and juggling a number of prescriptions and treatments. Elderly patients in particular are easily confused by what the doctor tells them. Or the patient may forget to ask questions they have of the doctor, or forget to tell the doctor about problems they’re having.

Ms. Picardo first became aware of the problem about four years ago, when her mother was undergoing treatment for cancer. “I was trying to choreograph her care from afar,” Ms. Picardo said. It wasn’t easy.

Support Systers, based in Clinton Township, provides clients with a registered nurse who accompanies them on doctors’ visits, takes notes, interprets information, helps ask questions, researches treatment options and can serve as an intermediary between physicians and a patient’s family. The nurse can also help prevent treatment error by coordinating care between doctors and institutions. They’re like a walking, talking patient chart.

Support Systers’ nurses don’t offer advice but help patients and families make decisions by explaining diagnosis and options.

One of the nurse’s functions is to address the “psychological aspect of therapy,” Ms. Picardo said, “which can be as important as the physical aspect.”

Some Support Systers staff “are nurses who didn’t want to be nurses anymore,” because of the job’s frequently demanding hours and pressure, or because of scheduling conflicts between work and family.

As a psychotherapist, Ms. Picardo thinks it’s unfortunate that any patient undergoing treatment for a serious condition would have to face the prospect alone.“Just reducing ‘the fear of the unknown’ can be a tremendous relief,” she noted.

While Support Systers works on a sliding scale of $75-$90 an hour, Ms. Picardo thinks they can reduce some of medicine’s hidden costs. “There are billions of dollars lost each year from executives who are caring for aging parents,” she said. Support Systers can free people from the moment-to-moment involvement and worry with their parents’ care.

Ms. Picardo admits that she’s “not totally comfortable that (Support Systers) isn’t available to everybody” because of cost.

It’s a question of growing step by step, said Stephen Kane, the company’s president. “We’re working hard towards getting insurance companies to pay” for Support Systers, he said, and he thinks it’s in their interest. By assuring treatment procedures are followed, return visits to the hospital can be reduced.

The business, which began just over three years ago, has expanded into nearby Somerset and Morris counties and is looking beyond those borders. “It’s a question of building relationships with places like Hunterdon Medical Center and Visiting Nurses associations,” Mr. Kane said.

Copyright 2003 Hunterdon Democrat Newspapers

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