Members Only
Member Dashboard

Search APHA Blog

Search

Health Advocacy and Healthcare Reform

3 minutes of reading / 2 Comments / By /

If you know and understand healthcare reform in the United States, please raise your hand and shout “I do!” <<hmm… I hear crickets…>> That’s right. There is no one who understands it, including Kathleen Sebelius (Secretary of Health and Human Services), or Donald Berwick (nominated to lead CMS). It’s too complex, too long and frankly – just plain daunting. But we are healthcare professionals. We make our livings understanding healthcare systems. So if we are confused by the complexity of healthcare reform, just imagine how patients and caregivers feel! Add to that all the changes going on at the state […]

Health Advocacy and Healthcare Reform Continue Reading

And Now a Word for Patients….

2 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment / By /

Last week we recognized Private Professional Patient Advocates Week, and across the country, some great stories showed up in newspapers, on TV, online and in radio broadcasts sharing stories of patients and caregivers who have been helped and the advocates who have helped them. Some of the stories, both reviewed last week and over the past few years, are amazing – high end cancer protocols that were never mentioned by physicians, but were brought to patients by their advocates. Complementary therapies, and wellness strategies that patients feel have been useful to them. Thousands of dollars …

And Now a Word for Patients…. Continue Reading

Private Professional Patient Advocates Week

2 minutes of reading / 1 Comment / By /

Patient advocates and navigators are my heroes. As such, I am thrilled to announce the first Private Professional Patient Advocates Week (planned to be an annual event) – a week of recognizing the talents and contributions of the several hundred private patient advocates across the US and Canada. “Thrilled” may actually not be strong enough. Over the past couple of years, I have had the privilege of meeting dozens of private advocates – people who are dedicating to smoothing the difficult path through the healthcare system. They lead their charges to improved health, they protect them from medical errors and

Private Professional Patient Advocates Week Continue Reading

Patient Advocacy and the Allegiance Factor

3 minutes of reading / 5 Comments / By /

As we prepare for Private Professional Patient Advocates Week next week, I’ve been asked by a handful of people what the difference is between a private patient advocate and any other health advocate. It’s an important question, and the answer is actually quite simple. The difference between a private patient advocate or navigator, and those found in hospitals, through insurance companies, or other places, is what I call The Advocate’s Allegiance Factor. It’s based on who is producing the paycheck. Private patient advocates are paid directly by the patient or the patient’s caregiver and have only one allegiance – to

Patient Advocacy and the Allegiance Factor Continue Reading

MORE Magazine Article – Blessings and Missed Opportunities

2 minutes of reading / 1 Comment / By /

One of our AdvoConnection members, Elisabeth Russell, is featured in the March issue of MORE Magazine. The story of her journey toward becoming a patient navigator is worth reading. I dare you not to choke up when you read about her daughter’s diagnosis and treatment results. A true blessing – and very well written. (Thank you MORE Magazine!) But there were some real mistakes in the sidebar information – and they need to be pointed out. Potential patient advocates and navigators can get the wrong picture from what’s there. At this point in our growth as a career, it’s important

MORE Magazine Article – Blessings and Missed Opportunities Continue Reading

Who Deserves a Patient Advocate’s Help?

3 minutes of reading / 2 Comments / By /

I’ve wrestled with this question more than once. It’s the question raised on occasion by those who talk about universal healthcare, and a for-profit healthcare system. It’s a question asked by those who are concerned that not everyone in the United States has access to healthcare. It’s asked by almost anyone who asks me what I do for a living. The question is, “Doesn’t providing private patient advocacy services only to those who can afford them, just create one more division between the “haves” and the “have nots?” Lots of soul searching, and more than a few conversations have produced

Who Deserves a Patient Advocate’s Help? Continue Reading

Can a True Patient Advocate Be Paid by Someone Else?

6 minutes of reading / 3 Comments / By /

Several questions have come my way recently about what kinds of job opportunities might exist for patient advocates. I refer people to an article I’ve written elsewhere, but the real answer is – to be a true advocate, you must analyze who is paying for your services, and what your responsibility will be to them. Finding an Employer In 2011, most of the job possibilities for patient advocates are found either with hospitals or insurance companies. Hospitals have, for a long time, employed patient advocates, sometimes called patient representatives, who are tasked with helping patients. And word comes from an

Can a True Patient Advocate Be Paid by Someone Else? Continue Reading

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