patient advocacy

When Your Competition – Isn’t

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(Updated February 2017) Recently we relaunched one of our APHA networking benefits, Special Interest Groups (SIGs). They provide members with the opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals to discuss any topic relevant to their work. For example, all members who live in Idaho might want to connect with each other. Or those who offer mental health advocacy services can share ideas. Others with interest in working strictly with seniors, or all our physician members, or even a group of Stanford grads (yes we have a handful!) SIGs help us connect with those who share our interests and experiences. One group, […]

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Oh, It Was Nothing, Really

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As advocates working for clients with grave medical problems, or clients who battle their insurance companies to get what they need for their care, or could lose their entire financial foundations due to overwhelming medical bills, our work results in lifesaving and quality-of-life saving outcomes every day. That’s what we do. And then, when someone thanks us, way too many of us deflect the compliment. “Oh, it was nothing, really.” Nothing? It’s as if we are embarrassed to have been thanked, even though we are – secretly – pleased. This disconnect in our response to being thanked and recognized came

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Saving Your Clients from Jerks, Crooks and Malintents

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(Apologies for the lists that no longer work in this post. In early summer 2014, About.com deleted almost 1000 posts and articles I had written. The points below are still valid, but I wanted you to know why the links may not produce what you expect.) I’m angry. And I’m appalled, too. And I think that you, as advocates, can be effective gatekeepers, guarding your client-patients from these kinds of providers. I’ve just finished blogging at About.com about two situations that have come to light recently. A third belongs here, too – from the general news. The story of an

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RIP Ramona – With Appreciation for The Lessons She Taught Us

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Ramona – whose real name was Rosemary – has died. She did it (mostly) her way. I first shared Ramona/Rosemary’s story with you a few months ago. She had contacted me through my patient empowerment work asking me to help her die. After a heinous surgical medical error many years ago, she could no longer be treated to provide (by her own definition) any quality to her life. So she wanted to put an end to her misery. Her primary care doctor, fearful he would be arrested, refused to help her. After thinking about it long and hard, I decided

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Contractors, Kick Backs and Clarity – That’s Why We’re Here for Advocates

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(updated January 2017) We’ve seen fireworks in the APHA Forum before. And we’ve dealt with them. The beautiful thing about the Forum is that allows free conversations on every topic imaginable. But of course, as with any group of highly intelligent, motivated and capable people, we’re not always going to agree. We experienced that again this week. One of our very active and valued members had visited her attorney to work on her contracts. She raised the idea of working with independent contractors, and her attorney immediately advised her against it. As she reported in the Forum, “He advised me

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Asking WTWTTCH Helps to Overcome the Paralysis of Analysis

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Having just returned from the APHA Business and Marketing workshops in Tampa, and in reviewing my notes and questions from attendees, I’ve come to a new conclusion about why many people have so much trouble pulling the trigger to actually SAY they are in practice – the formal hanging of their shingle, as it were…. Regular readers know I call this the “paralysis of analysis” – that inability to take the last steps. I’ve written about it here, and I’ve made recommendations here, and in both those cases, I’ve made a pretty thorough case for why advocates should not be

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We Interrupt This Thread for News About a Potential Patient Advocacy Lawsuit

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Last week I shared with you the problems I had with my coffee pot which burned and melted its insides – and then, while shopping for a new one, it reminded me of a lesson in making sure we advocates take care of the little things. My point was that we get hired for the big, important things that our clients need, but that our relationship with them, and our further ability to market our practices, is often dependent on the little things we take care of during the relationship. If we drop the ball on the little things, then

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