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advocacy ethics

Self-Centered and Unbusinesslike

5 minutes of reading / 4 Comments / By /
self-centered woman image

Suppose I go to my favorite pizza shop and this conversation takes place: Me: I would like a pepperoni pizza with black olives, onions, and extra cheese. Johnny the Pizza Guy: Sure! I’d be happy to help you with this pizza. But first let me tell you all about my pizza experiences – the reason I like to make pizzas. When I was little, we went to my grandmother’s house for dinner every Wednesday. My grandmother always made meatloaf. She made meatloaf with ground beef and always made gravy and mashed potatoes to go with it. It tasted good. It was […]

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Going on Offense: Who Deserves an Advocate’s Help?

4 minutes of reading / 8 Comments / By /
image - empty pockets

“Only rich people can afford an advocate.” Or: “Doesn’t providing private patient advocacy services only to those who can afford them, just create one more division between the “haves” and the “have nots?” Or: “Not everyone can afford an independent patient advocate. It’s unfair some people can’t be helped.” Anyone who has worked in advocacy or care management has heard one or more of these statements, or at least one from the same playbook. It’s an objection meant to put us on the defensive, as if, since private advocacy can’t be provided to everyone, then we shouldn’t provide it to

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Coloring Outside the Lines

4 minutes of reading / 4 Comments / By /

When people ask you what you do for a living, what do you – as an independent health / patient advocate, or care manager — reply to them? It would be simple to say “I am an advocate” which, then, may require further explanation. That further explanation would likely include examples of the kinds of work you do (I attend doctor appointments with seniors. Or, I manage medical bills and negotiate them when they are too high. Or I help people figure out what their own choices are for treatments… or…. ) That further explanation is always valuable, especially if

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Raise Your Dues So We Can Turn the Titanic?

5 minutes of reading / 2 Comments / By /
The Titanic - from wikipedia

Heard on the street (and on the phone, and during an in-person conversation, and by text….) IFs and THENs: If [the healthcare system] was just ______, then ______ ! You’ll have your own variations to fill in there, like: If healthcare was less expensive, then more people could get care! If doctors would spend more time with me, then I could get my questions answered! If insurance would just cover it, then my client could get the treatment she needs! If there were more specialists to cover my ailment, then I wouldn’t have to wait so long for an appointment!

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What Biases Don’t YOU Recognize?

4 minutes of reading / 1 Comment / By /

As advocates, we all quickly become familiar with, and embrace, and share with clients, our Code of Ethics.* Of course, there are many tenets to the code, but primary among them is the very specific statement and belief that while acting as a professional patient advocate, we will never make decisions for our clients. We work to help them make their own decisions, we respect the decisions they make, and we assist them to be sure they are carried out. I’m sure, as you read that statement, you are nodding your head in agreement. YOU would never violate that tenet,

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Less Becomes More: Where Subtraction Has Positive Results

5 minutes of reading / 2 Comments / By /

I spent the weekend gardening. It’s spring, after all. Since my last assault on my garden last Fall, many plants got leggy, or died, or just needed rehab of some sort. Unlike many of my neighbors (and maybe you, too!) what I love most about gardening is finishing it. It feels so good when it stops! 🙂 What was unique about my weekend gardening is an observation I made; a good metaphor to share with you, in hopes of providing some inspiration on a service you can provide to your clients. (Yes, this is what happens when I’m pulling weeds.

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Simon and Garfunkel – an Anthem to Advocacy

3 minutes of reading / 2 Comments / By /
bridge

OK, yes, I’m dating myself… One of my favorite Simon and Garfunkel songs is Bridge Over Troubled Water. I’ve been humming it repeatedly over the last few weeks, and last week, we let the advocacy world know why. When you’re down and out When you’re on the street When evening falls so hard I will comfort you (ooo) I’ll take your part, oh, when darkness comes And pain is all around Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down The lyrics – are like an anthem

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