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Advocacy, Politics and the 2012 Elections

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I’ve been in Florida for the past week, working, advocating, feeling my jaw clench and my back go up each time I’ve seen or heard a commercial or watched a newscast that focuses on one of the Republican primary candidates. (As an aside – it’s not because they are Republican – it’s because the commercials are so nasty, denigrating, and insulting or because the candidates or their henchmen say such nasty, denigrating, insulting things about each other.) Florida, of course, is the next primary state, to where all the candidates will rush once the results are in from South Carolina. […]

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Coopetition – But Don’t Give Away the Farm

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Many readers of this blog know that prior to devoting my career to patient empowerment and patient advocacy, I owned a small marketing company that worked specifically with service professionals and small businesses. I had clients of every flavor, from manufacturing companies to hair salons, from lawyers to book authors, to cookie-bakers and small distribution companies – a gamut. An important part of my work was mentoring – helping others who wanted to be in business grasp the basic concepts that were necessary, helping them apply those concepts to their own fields, then jump in with both feet. I truly

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Watching the Headlines for Opportunities

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A link on Twitter precipitated today’s post and idea for you. It contains a challenge, too! See below. The tweet linked to a news article: A second set of eyes cuts errors at HCMC. It tells about an initiative at Hennepin County Medical Center (Minneapolis) that cut the medication errors found in patients’ discharge paperwork from 92 percent – to zero. 0. Nada. No medication errors. Impressive. Now, if you or your patient-client happens to be discharged from Hennepin County Medical Center, that’s great news. But the article got me wondering – what about the other 99.999 percent of discharged

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A One Word Resolution for All Advocates

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Greetings at the top of new year, with hopes you had a great holiday season and you’re getting prepped for success in 2012. I always feel a bit of inertia after taking a break, or a vacation, or when my world has slowed down for some deep breath-taking for awhile…. that is, my body at rest still wants to stay at rest! And when I hear about “resolutions” – geesh – that sounds too much like work. So, as we are bombarded by media talking about this resolution or that, I have one simple one for many of you –

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Why We Should Avoid Using the Title “Certified Patient Advocate”

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It’s a big question among patient and health advocates – whether or not someone is considered “certified” as a patient advocate. Last week I answered a question that came from an advocate about why someone would bother taking a course or finishing a program if they wouldn’t be considered “certified” at the end…. But there are even bigger considerations – some food for thought for those who disagree with my stand about claiming certification. I believe the use of “Certified Patient Advocate,” in these early stages of the profession’s development has the potential of hurting both you, as an individual

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Revisiting Education and Patient Advocates’ Certification

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Attendees at our recent AdvoConnection Business Institute had a variety of topics and issues they wanted to discuss. Follow up surveys and emails produced even more, including some questions that, over time, will be answered to our best ability. Some will be answered during teleconference call-ins, others through our fabulous advisors, and one or two will be addressed right here on the blog. One question that pops up frequently regards certification. As I’ve written before, and as is true today, there is no such thing as a nationally recognized patient advocacy certification – period. Therefore, there is no such thing

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Putting WOM to Work for You

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man speaking

(Originally published in November 2011. Updated November 2019) One of our APHA members got in touch after a talk he gave to his local Rotary Club. He was disappointed in the turn-out and wondered whether all his effort was worth it. After our brief email conversation, it seemed that sharing some of the important points might be a good idea since you might run into some of his same issues. Those issues are based on presentation and expectations. So let’s take a look. Public Speaking, whether there are 5, 50, 500 or 5000 people in attendance is a great form

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