health advocates and navigators | APHA Blog : The Alliance of Professional Health Advocates

Recognizing Private Professional Patient Advocates

2 minutes of reading / 1 Comment / By Trisha Torrey / March 11, 2012

This is it! Private Professional Patient Advocate Week (PPPAW)? is recognized this week, March 11 to 17, 2012. It’s a time to help patients and caregivers learn the many ways they can benefit from the assistance of private patient and health advocates and navigators. This year there are 21 people participating as featured advocates on the special website developed for them. They have shared stories about their successes, and we invite media to contact them and interview not only these fine advocates, but the patients and caregivers they have helped, too. A sample of stories: A man who contacted one […]

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Let’s Talk About Excellence in Patient and Health Advocacy

3 minutes of reading / 2 Comments / By Trisha Torrey / February 26, 2012

In less than one week, we will be announcing the winner of this year’s Schueler Patient Advocacy Compass Award. This is a big deal – and not just for the winner, who will find some perks that go along with the award. It’s a big deal to you, too, because in many ways, the stories our applicants told, and the questions they were asked to address, are what defines excellence in patient and health advocacy. In other words – these attributes, based on Ken Schueler’s work, goals and ideals define what we consider to be a top-notch, client-life-enhancing advocate. The

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Patient Advocates, Income Tax Deductions and Guide Dogs

4 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment / By Trisha Torrey / February 20, 2012

(Updated March 2021) It’s income tax season in the United States. Some of us have already filed our income taxes. Some have piled up those 1099s and W-2s and are mustering up the courage to make an appointment with our tax preparers. And others are saying, “Please don’t remind me!” But let’s not forget – it’s tax season for our clients, too, many of whom have accumulated enough medical expenses that they may be asking whether or not they can deduct your health or patient advocacy, navigation or medical billing review services from their taxes. Good question, right? Have you

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When Is Potential Competition the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Your Business?

4 minutes of reading / 8 Comments / By Trisha Torrey / February 12, 2012

(Posted February 2, 2012) One of my favorite restaurants is an Italian place called Dominick’s. The food is always delicious, the pasta, sauces and dishes are homemade (you cannot beat their meatballs!), the wait staff is always friendly and the prices are fair, too. It’s a family place, with a busy bar and a glass-fronted bakery case with the most sinful-looking desserts. There’s only one Dominick’s, and sometimes it’s so busy that the wait can be well more than an hour. (I’ll bet you have a Dominick’s in your town, too, even if it’s called Antonio’s, Nick’s or Enzo’s –

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Coopetition – But Don’t Give Away the Farm

4 minutes of reading / 2 Comments / By Trisha Torrey / January 16, 2012

Many readers of this blog know that prior to devoting my career to patient empowerment and patient advocacy, I owned a small marketing company that worked specifically with service professionals and small businesses. I had clients of every flavor, from manufacturing companies to hair salons, from lawyers to book authors, to cookie-bakers and small distribution companies – a gamut. An important part of my work was mentoring – helping others who wanted to be in business grasp the basic concepts that were necessary, helping them apply those concepts to their own fields, then jump in with both feet. I truly

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Watching the Headlines for Opportunities

3 minutes of reading / 1 Comment / By Trisha Torrey / January 8, 2012

A link on Twitter precipitated today’s post and idea for you. It contains a challenge, too! See below. The tweet linked to a news article: A second set of eyes cuts errors at HCMC. It tells about an initiative at Hennepin County Medical Center (Minneapolis) that cut the medication errors found in patients’ discharge paperwork from 92 percent – to zero. 0. Nada. No medication errors. Impressive. Now, if you or your patient-client happens to be discharged from Hennepin County Medical Center, that’s great news. But the article got me wondering – what about the other 99.999 percent of discharged

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A One Word Resolution for All Advocates

3 minutes of reading / 6 Comments / By Trisha Torrey / January 2, 2012

Greetings at the top of new year, with hopes you had a great holiday season and you’re getting prepped for success in 2012. I always feel a bit of inertia after taking a break, or a vacation, or when my world has slowed down for some deep breath-taking for awhile…. that is, my body at rest still wants to stay at rest! And when I hear about “resolutions” – geesh – that sounds too much like work. So, as we are bombarded by media talking about this resolution or that, I have one simple one for many of you –

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