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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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The 2014 Schueler Patient Advocacy Compass Award… and the winner is…

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And – we have a winner! The Alliance of Professional Health Advocates, on behalf of its selection committee (comprised of past winners plus Ken Schueler’s daughter, Alexandra), is pleased to announce the 2014 winner of the H. Kenneth Schueler Patient Advocacy Compass Award: Karen Zorrilla, MD of Houston, Texas. Congratulations Karen! The choice was both easy and difficult. Karen’s qualifications are outstanding – an easy choice. However, all our applicants are outstanding examples of excellence in their service to their clients and our profession. The competition was stiff. There were no wrong choices. In fact, this year’s applicants who did

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Why Being Too Helpful Will Destroy Your Advocacy Practice

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As the director of an organization for private, independent patient advocates, this time of year is full of big excitement – and big disappointments, too. Today is January 12, 2014 and I’m excited to tell you that 32 new private advocate wannabes have joined Alliance of Professional Health Advocates just since the first of the year. For each one who eventually goes into business as an advocate, we can anticipate that they will help perhaps 100 client-patients in the next 5 years – potentially 3200 people (plus their families) who will enjoy better medical outcomes, or save plenty of money

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Let’s Do a Refresh for 2014 – A Tipping Point for Private Advocacy!

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The holidays are behind us. The fre-e-e-zing cold has arrived in most of North America. We’re feeling a little sluggish perhaps…. and maybe need a kick in the behind to get ourselves going in 2014. 2014. That means we’re in our fifth year of building this new profession…. Let’s make this the Year of the Independent Patient Advocate’s Tipping Point! (can I hear an A-MEN?) Are you ready for it? If not, and if you’re in practice working with clients, helping them with the dozens of services they need, then you can probably use a reminder and refresher for those

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Riddle Me This – Then Take a Step Back

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You may have seen this riddle running around the internet: It’s 3:00 am. Your doorbell rings. Unexpected visitors! It’s long time friends, and they are hungry for some breakfast. You have strawberry jam, honey, wine, bread and cheese. So what is the first thing you open? Here’s one that’s similar, but is perhaps more appropriate for an audience of health advocates: It’s 3:00 am. Your doorbell rings. It’s your neighbors! One is clutching his chest and screams, I’ve been shot! The second one is holding her thigh and says, I’ve been shot, too! What’s the first thing you do? We’ll

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Remember Cat’s Cradle? How to Use It to Build Your Advocacy Practice

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Just back at my desk after the last of this Fall’s (2013) three APHA workshops, this one held in Los Angeles – another great experience meeting so many passionate, inspirational advocates and soon-to-be advocates…. As those who took the marketing workshop learned – one of the most important things we should do is to measure the effectiveness and client satisfaction of our work once it’s completed. To accomplish that, after each of the workshops, I surveyed attendees to see what they found most useful and to understand what didn’t work so well, too. The results: The answers varied. Many cited

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A Surefire Way to Drive Older Clients Away

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OK – so I confess. I talk baby talk to my dog. He’s little, and snuggly, and adorable – and it’s just so easy to call him cutesy names and fall into that simplification of short sentences that we do with babies, too. Just what is it about babies and puppy dogs that begs us to speak baby talk to them. I think that it’s that aura of vulnerability that surrounds them. Vulnerability that begs us to be reassuring or coddling or just drippy-sweet. They clearly need caretaking or caregiving, and we, as their protectors, want to make them feel

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