Patient advocates: the doctor will see you. Now.

After three surgeries, Judy Sherer still had chronic pain in her left shoulder. She'd lost faith in her doctors, and in despair tried a new health benefit offered by her employer.

The service, Health Advocate, is a call-in center that helps customers find the right doctor, haggle over insurance coverage and manage other medical system headaches.

An advocate helped Sherer find a new surgeon — one who found metal shavings left in her shoulder by a previous doctor. The advocate also negotiated the charge for her physical therapy down to $40 per visit from the $200 she was told initially.

"It saved me a ton of money," said Sherer, 63, of Norcross, Ga. "I'm very, very pleased."

Health Advocate is one of a growing number of U.S. companies offering some form of advocacy services to medical consumers.

Currently, the health advocacy business is an industry with about $50 million to $75 million in annual revenue but only about a half-dozen companies of any significant size, said Richard Rakowski of Intersection LLC, a Connecticut-based investment and development firm that has researched the field.

More than ever, people need help negotiating the medical system, said Jessica Greene, a University of Oregon health policy analyst.

"We're asking consumers to make more complicated decisions, but the numeracy and health literacy skills of many consumers are not at the level needed to handle this new responsibility," Greene said.

Though some consumers are savvy enough to beat a billing overcharge or probe doctors' litigation histories, they don't have the time for such labors, experts said.

Indeed, the largest customers of health advocacy services are companies, not individuals. "The employers are interested because it means their employees are not on the phone taking care of doctor's visits" during work hours, Fischer said.

Some other companies have always focused on individuals, especially rich ones.

One example is $10,000-a-year PinnacleCare, founded in 2002 by John Hutchins, who created a concierge-like service at the Cleveland Clinic. He later used his connections to build a national network of doctors for his private health advisory start-up.

The Baltimore-based company is essentially a club for millionaires and billionaires that puts nurses and social workers in touch with members. Not only will they help members find top-level care, they will get them moved to the head of the line. PinnacleCare advisers will even meet the patient at a doctor's office or hospital.

PinnacleCare has about 1,700 member-families. One satisfied customer is Kirk Posmantur, 45, the founder and chairman of Axcess Luxury & Lifestyle. His Atlanta-based company markets handmade watches, private jets and other luxury items to the affluent.

"It's a no-brainer for those who've got net worth of $5 million or more," he said. "You've got people who advise you on your taxes. You've got people who advise you on how to manage your money. But what's more important than your health?"

(The Associated Press)

Click here for more GPB News coverage of health issues.