Members Only
Member Dashboard

Search APHA Blog

Search

Trisha Torrey

Trisha Torrey is the founder and executive director of the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates.

What Private Patient Advocates Can Learn from Paula Deen*

4 minutes of reading / 1 Comment / By /

Hey y’all! If someone had asked you on the June 20, 2013 to describe Paula Deen, you might have described her as a bubbly, vivacious, popular Food Network star, author, well-merchandised cook or chef. Whether or not you liked her, and no matter what you thought of her approach to food, you at least had to admire her empire and popularity. Over the next week, her empire collapsed, seemingly because she fessed up to using the N-word during a lawsuit deposition.* The bigger they are, the harder they fall. It makes no difference whether or not Deen’s fall was fair […]

What Private Patient Advocates Can Learn from Paula Deen* Continue Reading

We Get By With a Little Help from Our Friends

5 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment / By /

(Can’t you just hear Ringo in your ear? and yes, if you understand that reference, you’re dating yourself!) This week I was reminded several times about all the folks who are trying to develop their patient advocacy practices on their own, thinking they need to conquer it all by themselves. They don’t. They shouldn’t. And they run the risk of failing in business until they start thinking differently. Here’s why: Patient Advocacy is a time-intensive, hands-on undertaking. Each client needs a great deal of attention, usually immediately. Yet time isn’t something we can find more of; there are still only

We Get By With a Little Help from Our Friends Continue Reading

Going to Jail, Spinning Plates, Peace of Mind – and You

4 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment / By /

Suppose you are asleep one night, and the police break down your front door, yank you out of bed, arrest you, and take you off to jail…. What would you do? Who would you call? It doesn’t matter whether you are innocent or guilty – you have been blindsided by something unexpected, and now you have to deal with it by navigating a system you know nothing about…. I suspect you would call a lawyer to help you through it, right? A lawyer is the person who can at least provide the peace of mind that knowledge of the system

Going to Jail, Spinning Plates, Peace of Mind – and You Continue Reading

Sharing Healthcare’s Dirty Little Secrets

3 minutes of reading / 11 Comments / By /

I’ve just written a post at About.com about my recent mammogram experience where the breast center I’ve gone to for more than a decade managed to dissolve my trust of their service in the span of one phone call. Is it possible that they were being honest and I have no reason to lose my trust in them? Yes, of course. Maybe I’ve jumped the gun – or maybe not. But it doesn’t really matter. Because whether they deserve my distrust or not, I will never trust them again. No, not a chance. (Just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean they

Sharing Healthcare’s Dirty Little Secrets Continue Reading

Insanity Is Repeating the Same Behavior…

6 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment / By /

… and expecting different results. It’s a favorite saying of mine, which I used to have posted just above my desk as a reminder that if I wanted to improve my work (or my life!) then I needed to take a fresh look at what I was doing and make adjustments. It’s a similar sentiment to another favorite saying of mine which is: If you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll always get what you’ve always got. Both these sayings came to mind this week as I responded to several advocates and almost-advocates about challenges they were having.

Insanity Is Repeating the Same Behavior… Continue Reading

Pushing Back

5 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment / By /

I truly dislike negativity. I suspect you do, too. As a kid, I would avoid arguments like the plague. I hated the upset that went along with it – that feeling of frustration, and churning in my stomach. Ugh. As I got older, I realized that negativity was always going to be a part of my life whether I liked it or not. Avoiding it was not an option, because avoiding it meant I wasn’t sticking up for myself or my loved ones or the tenets I believed in. Avoiding it meant I couldn’t right a wrong – or learn

Pushing Back Continue Reading

Filling the Gap Changes Everything for Your Patient

5 minutes of reading / 1 Comment / By /

(Note: June 2016 – this post is now more than 3 years old. See an update below.) In the category of “life imitates career”…. In 8+ years of blogging, and with the exception of the personal experience that was the impetus for my career as Every Patient’s Advocate, (later the founder of AdvoConnection and the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates), I have rarely (if ever?) shared my personal medical experiences. Truth is, until now, they have been, thankfully, quite boring and not worth writing about. Yes, until now… because now, “the lump” has returned. Lump #1, discovered, excised, misdiagnosed as

Filling the Gap Changes Everything for Your Patient Continue Reading

APHA Blog : The Alliance of Professional Health Advocates →←
Scroll to Top