Two years ago today, we launched AdvoConnection as the premier directory for patients and caregivers to find a health or patient advocate or navigator, and to support the business starting and growing efforts of advocates.
Happy Birthday to Us!
You might be interested in what this journey has looked like so far:
> More than 270 people are advocate or pre-advocate members of AdvoConnection. Most are in the process of exploring advocacy as a career.
> 12 non-profit patient advocacy organizations are registered with AdvoConnection.
> More than 2,100 people visit the directory site each month in search of an advocate or navigator to help them
> We have sent out 89 Monday Member Mails to advocate members. (We don’t send them on holidays.)
> Our advisors (legal, insurance, patient safety, insurance claims, marketing and medical) have answered at least 34 questions from advocate members.
> We have had to turn away 27 applications for Premium or Basic memberships because we felt they were not ready to appear in the directory (not enough of a track record.) Most of them have instead joined as PACE members.
> We’ve held 13 teleconference call-ins on topics ranging from marketing and money to patient safety and insurance claims. All but one is now podcast on the member site. (uh-huh, I forgot to turn on the RECORD for one of them.)
> We’ve helped individual advocates and AdvoConnection itself appear in media galore – from O Magazine to CNN to local newspapers and TV news.
> We’ll hold our first conference, the AdvoConnection Business Institute, in November.
> However! We have no idea how many successes there have been – patients or caregivers who found one of our directory-listed advocates and became clients. We have no way to track them because email and phone calls go directly to the advocate who is listed in the directory.
And that’s where you come in! Please tell your story below: If you are an AdvoConnection member*, tell us about a patient or caregiver (or even another advocate) you connected with through your affiliation with AdvoConnection. Please don’t use names (privacy) – but tell us how the relationship worked out, what benefit there was to your patient, or to you….
(And hey – make sure you link to your website, because this is a great way to help promote your own advocacy business!)
It’s a great way to help us celebrate our second birthday!
*AdvoConnection members only, thank you.
Congratulations Trisha, you have created and continue to produce a great resource. Continued success.
Anne Llewellyn