Members Only
Member Dashboard

Search APHA Blog

Search

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

3 minutes of reading / 2 Comments / By /

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 […]

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

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

3 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment / By /

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

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

Don’t Shoot the Messenger

4 minutes of reading / 2 Comments / By /

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

Don’t Shoot the Messenger Continue Reading

Private, Independent – and Potentially Confusing

3 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment / By /

There is a drug I take, which I have taken for years, which I order from one of the large mail-order benefits companies. Every 90 days or so, I log on, wend my way to ‘refill your prescription” and wait for a few days until it arrives. It’s a beautiful thing. Last week – not so much. Last week I tried to order my refill, and instead got a notice that they don’t have any in stock! Not only that, they weren’t sure when it would be in stock again. Say, what? This is a standard, everyone-takes-it generic type drug.

Private, Independent – and Potentially Confusing Continue Reading

The Health Advocate’s Olympics

4 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment / By /

Like many of you, I have been glued to the Olympics for more than a week. I stay up very late every night (and have to drag myself out of bed in the morning!) to watch athletes who can twist or turn or propel their bodies in ways that seem practically inhuman. A mix of awe, pride, respect and, when it comes to Chinese badminton players, incredulity. Watching the athletes and the competitions, I realized there are some metaphorical similarities between what they do, and what we, the pioneers of the profession of private health advocacy, are working to accomplish,

The Health Advocate’s Olympics Continue Reading

What’s In a Name? A Caveat for “Navigators”

4 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment / By /

Friend of health and patient advocates and NAVIGATORs everywhere, Elisabeth Russell, forwarded a link to many of us this week – an article from the National Cancer Institute regarding the use of patient navigators for cancer patients. My first reaction is – what a marvelous, MARVELOUS service these navigators are providing to cancer patients. I have to wonder how cancer patients ever survived treatment prior to having a navigator to help them! And then I have to pause…. I see a few problems cropping up – two that can be problematic for health and patient advocates, and one a problem

What’s In a Name? A Caveat for “Navigators” Continue Reading

What Health Advocates Need to Know about the Affordable Care Act

4 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment / By /

It’s official and it’s not going away. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as healthcare reform, or the ACA, is changing the face of healthcare for every American. The first changes became effective shortly after its passage in 2010. New parts of the law will continue to be implemented until January 1, 2014 when the biggest part of the law, the individual mandate, will ensure (almost) every American has some form of insurance or government coverage to pay for the care they need. Are you, as an independent health advocate, prepared for those changes? Even further, are

What Health Advocates Need to Know about the Affordable Care Act Continue Reading

APHA Blog : The Alliance of Professional Health Advocates
Scroll to Top