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health advocates and navigators

Like Learning to Ride Your Bike…

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In an email conversation with one of our APHA mentors last week, a point that is so often lacking in the understanding of an independent advocacy practice was made: That it usually takes 3 to 5 years to know if someone will be a successful business owner, advocacy included. That so many advocates quit before they get there, never giving themselves a chance, really. They start out thinking it will be easy because, afterall, many have been advocates for decades in previous careers… just a simple switch to self-employment, right? When they finally understand that the first few years are […]

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Successes, Failures, and My Biggest Surprise

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12 years. While on the one hand, 12 years seems like a looong time, on the other hand, it has gone by in the blink of an eye. I’m referring to the 12 years I’ve focused my professional life on building the profession of independent health and patient advocacy, having made the decision in 2007 to begin building an online presence for advocates through the AdvoConnection Directory website. It eventually launched in Fall 2009* and evolved to become The Alliance of Professional Health Advocates. So I’ve been giving thought to what I consider to be our biggest successes, biggest failures,

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How Much Do Patient Advocates Charge?

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I’m often asked what questions people ask me most frequently. The answer is some variation of this family of questions: How much does an advocate charge? What is the hourly rate for health or patient advocates? How much money do patient advocates make? How much money do patient advocates get paid? What is the average amount patient advocates charge? We’ll begin by answering with other questions (bad form, but it makes our point…) How much does it cost to take a vacation? What does it cost to go to college? How much more can I make if I get a

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When Granny Doesn’t Want to Cross the Street

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You have probably heard that old joke about a Boy Scout who was determined to help a little old lady cross the street. After a number of attempts and iterations, he finally picked her up and carried her to the other side of the street, set her down on the sidewalk, and left, having completed his good deed. But the joke was really on him – because the lady had no interest in getting to the other side. She had wanted to stay right where she was. We frequently receive requests to take Granny across the street. They come in

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Independent Advocacy’s Three-Legged Stool of Success

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In response to one of the most frequently asked questions I get as the director of The Alliance of Professional Health Advocates – I might be providing an answer you don’t expect. That’s OK! Because if you don’t expect it, then you may hear it even more clearly than you otherwise would. And that can only be good. I hear the basic questions in a number of formats: Do I need to get a degree or certificate to be a patient advocate? Followed by, “what degree?” or “what courses do I need to take?” Do I need to be certified

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Powerful, Useful, and Beneficial — From HBO’s Vice Media: Patient Advocates Can Save Your Money and Your Life

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In April of this year, patient advocates convened in San Diego for the APHA Summits to mix and mingle, learn, and talk shop… Joining us was the video crew from HBO’s Vice News, led by producer Amanda Pisetzner – a delightful group of young people, with so much talent and enthusiasm, asking great questions… They worked in the background during our networking event, and separately they met with two of our advocates, AnnMarie McIlwain, and Karen Vogel, as they conducted their important work. The crew even met with client-patients who AnnMarie and Karen found were willing to discuss their own

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