patient advocacy

Advocate for Patients and the Environment, Too

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Among the dozens of details that needed attention after my father died, was figuring out what to do with the virtual pharmacy we found in his apartment. Dad was a firm believer of better living through chemistry – and he had dozens of prescription bottles, supplements and vitamins, patches and more, in the bathroom, the kitchen and next to his desk. I think CVS could have stocked up from his stash. Among them were drugs he had taken that hadn’t worked – so the entire rest of the prescription just got put away. We also found dozens of herbal supplements […]

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“In the Mood” – How Glenn Miller, Johnny Mercer and the Andrews Sisters Helped Dad Weather His Pain

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Man Relaxing with Music and his dog

I’ve just returned from Florida, having spent almost two weeks with my sisters, taking care of details since Dad died. There were plenty of tears – of course. But even more, there was laughter! Because despite our mourning, we shared many marvelous family memories as we uncovered this treasure (good grief – our grade school report cards!) or that one (did we really wear our hair like that in the 80s?) And of course, there were the conversations. Quite surprising, more than 100 people  attended Dad’s memorial service. It was a memorial service like few others – exactly what Dad

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The Lessons We’ll Learn from Dad

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My father, Richard F. Torrey (known to friends as Dick), passed away yesterday, Sunday, September 30th. He was a remarkable man who led a remarkable life. I tell you this because part of Dad’s legacy is going to be the healthcare and advocacy lessons we learned along the way. Dad as patient. Daughter as advocate. A treasure trove of experiences. Over the years I took note of the many – MANY – experiences we had through his health journey. But I haven’t written about many of them…. As long as Dad was still alive, there was privacy to consider and

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Start and Grow Your Independent, Private Advocacy Practice – Coming Soon!

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Coming Soon! I’m happy to announce that my next book is now in the hands of the publisher, in the final stages of being edited, prepped and printed: The Health Advocate’s Start and Grow Your Own Practice Handbook – is on its way. Pre-orders are now available (through October 1.) ($10 off the total of cover price, plus shipping and handling). Pre-ordered books will be mailed on or before November 1. It’s a step-by-step guide, covering soup to nuts, for starting a one person, solo practice or a partnership of two or more people. If your intent is to start

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Don’t Let Your Cause Be the Cause of Lost Business

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With the national presidential conventions behind us, and particularly if you live in a swing state, you know that the political campaigning, dressed as attacks and vitriol, is only revving up (as if it can get any worse?) This presidential election will be the first one that social media – like Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter – will be used by the mainstream to share opinions and information. Possibly for the first time, you’re going to learn what your friends and followers, and those you follow, think about which candidate – and why. You’re going to learn more about them than

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In the Absence of Certification – a Code of Conduct and Professional Standards

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As private, independent health advocates are very aware, there is no nationally (or internationally) recognized certification for our profession. As such, there is no recognized – or expected – set of behaviors or standards for our profession either. What exactly does that mean, and why does it matter? Let’s put ourselves in our potential clients’ shoes for a moment. With no rules and no set of expectations – what makes potential clients think they can trust us? They find an advocate’s name online, talk to them on the phone for a few minutes, and – what? Send them money? Put

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Don’t Shoot the Messenger

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Something I’ve noticed over the past two years or so is that people who write to me for help seem to be getting increasingly belligerent when they don’t like the information I share, or reply to their questions or requests. Three examples: A woman wrote to me through my About.com Patient Empowerment site, asking me to please make a phone call to her psychiatrist to tell him that she needed a higher dose of Xanax. I replied to her to say that first, I don’t work directly with patients – I write and speak and run an organization. Further, that

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