In an exclusive interview, Modern Healthcare reporter Maureen McKinney talks with Joanna Smith, CEO of Healthcare Liaison, a Berkeley, Calif.-based patient-advocacy firm. Smith, who also founded the National Association of Healthcare Advocacy Consultants, discusses the roles private patient advocates play as they help clients make better-informed decisions about their care.

Read the accompanying Outpatient Care story titled "Empowering the patient" published in the Jan. 31 issue of Modern Healthcare.

A transcript of this interview is available here.