decision making

Can’t Decide?

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Today’s post will be short and sweet (for a change.) It’s about making a decision. It applies to ALL decision-making processes. It popped up in the past week several times, in these scenarios: Conversation with an APHA PACE member. She could not decide whether to quit her job to start her practice. Conversation with an APHA Premium +ADL member. His potential new client could not decide whether to sign a contract with him. Conversation with a potential APHA member: She could not decide whether to join APHA or buy The Health Advocate’s Start and Grow Your Own Practice Handbook. Visiting …

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Repeal of the ACA… So Now What Should We Do?

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Last week marked the inauguration of the 45th president of the United States. No matter your feelings about him or his politics, he’s here to stay, presumably for the next four years, alongside a Republican majority in Congress. The first order of business? Repealing the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), the legislation under which many of us are able to get, and afford, healthcare insurance, and access to the care we need. With the stroke of a pen, the icing on the repeal cake was completed within the first few hours of the new president taking office. Congress had already baked …

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The 2017 Advocates’ Challenges

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Since I started this blog, and as each new year begins, I try to think of ways to challenge advocate-readers (and advocate-wannabe-readers) with ways they can improve their work, their results for clients, and their businesses, too. This year, that task is so very simple. Unfortunately, that’s not the good news. Sadly, it’s more like the bad news. Bad news – because this year’s challenges all come from complaints and problems I’ve been asked to respond to – or even fix – in just the past few months. Oh how I dislike this part of my work! I hate dealing …

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An Advocate’s Website Checklist

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As we close in on the end of the year, many of you are (or at least should be) in the process of reviewing your marketing plans in preparation for the new year. Others among you, those who are just getting started with building advocacy practices, may be looking at ways to improve what you’ve started (or maybe you even just hope to get started!) Among the marketing tactics we should all be using is a marketing website. In fact, except for finding public speaking opportunities, your website is arguably THE most important piece of marketing you can use. Most …

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What the Presidential Election Results Mean for Patient Advocates

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When President Barack Obama ran for office in 2008, healthcare reform was already an enormous and contentious topic. In those days, I was invited to speak to dozens of groups of patients and caregivers to help audiences sort out the issues that comprised healthcare reform so they could, on their own, decide which aspects (if any) were important to them. From the concept of “universal” healthcare through a public option, to coverage for pre-existing conditions, to portability, tort reform, free vaccinations to develop “herd immunity,” and many more, we looked at the whole of the topic as objectively as possible. …

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Revisiting the Question: Advocate and Proxy, Too? Making Decisions for Clients

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image - man proxy question

Two years ago we asked whether a health/patient advocate can also be a decision-maker for her client in the form of being a healthcare proxy or guardian (the patient-designated person who makes end-of-life decisions for the patient, based on wishes the patient has legally documented). Since the ethics and standards of the original advocate role very specifically state that an advocate WILL NOT and CAN NOT make decisions for a client, would the new role of proxy or guardian create a conflict-of-interest? The scenario shared was that “Gwen” had been Mrs. Smith’s advocate for a long period of time and …

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Like Putting Ponze in Charge of My Retirement Savings – a Rant

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Charles Ponze

I live and work in Florida now. For the first time in my adult life, I live in a state where there’s a real possibility that my vote in the upcoming presidential election will make a difference. As a result, when I sit down to watch TV in the evening, I see a constant barrage of the most objectionable commercials. This candidate bashing that candidate. “Facts” that aren’t facts. Claims that have been disproved over and over again. Detestable. You may be surprised to know that THOSE commercials aren’t the ones that upset me the most! In fact, I no …

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