Stacey McGuire: navigating patients through the financial maze

We recently spoke with Stacey McGuire, an Oncology Patient Financial Counselor at Tidelands Health in South Carolina. Read on to learn why Stacey loves her job, what she’s learned during the pandemic, and her tips to help providers save time and serve more patients. 

What is most rewarding about your job?

Receiving a cancer diagnosis is emotionally and financially difficult. Patients can easily be overwhelmed with the financial aspect of their disease. I love helping patients address the financial part of their journey and navigate the health insurance maze! Finding ways to lessen that financial burden so patients can focus on their health is the most rewarding part. 

What life lesson have you learned during the pandemic?

The biggest life lesson it has taught me is that we must be prepared to adapt to rapidly evolving situations. I lost a beloved family member to the virus.  Life is precious. Be grateful for everything you have.

Do you have any tips for other providers?

Using FundFinder makes my job so much easier. It enables me to quickly verify which foundations have funding available. The best part is the text message alerts I receive for the disease funds I follow. These alerts allow me to move fast to secure funding for patients.

I also use the disease fund wait list, which allows me to apply on behalf of my patients once funding becomes available. These tools have enabled me to help more patients in need. If you are not using the provider portal or these tools offered, you are missing out!