My social media of choice is Twitter. I’ve been a “Tweep” since 2008, although that includes years of no Twitter during the craziness of politics and elections when I find my blood pressure...
This post will be short(er) and sweet(er)than usual – because your time will be better spent reading something else – linked below. And here’s why: You may be familiar with CSA: The Society...
True confession here – I am not a HUGE fan of Dr. Phil’s. However, in the early years of his TV show I used to watch on occasion and felt like he made some great points about the choices we m...
https://aphablog.com/2021/09/21/with-a-nod-to-dr-phil-hows-that-workin-for-ya/
I love sayings and metaphors. Those who are regular readers of this blog know that from previous posts. I so admire and respect people who just have a “way” of phrasing words to make concepts...
https://aphablog.com/2021/09/06/the-enemy-of-the-good-getting-out-of-your-own-way/
It was jarring. It was upsetting. And it was taken care of swiftly. One among us decided that advocacy ethics don’t apply to her. And her actions, way outside our best practices and ethics, cou...
Today I’m sharing with you a recent revelation, based on a conversation with my friend, Grace. It’s H-U-U-G-E! With just a slight shift in thinking and approach, it can be used to manage our ...
This post asks the question: Under what circumstances do we go to the wall for our patient-clients? And when we need to go there, what’s the best approach? Scenario: Your patient-client checks ...
https://aphablog.com/2020/11/18/what-aretha-franklin-can-teach-us-about-communication/
Over the years, I’ve met, discussed, emailed, pleaded, and thrown my hands up at (probably) hundreds of advocates who have never truly become professional, independent, practicing advocates. Th...
https://aphablog.com/2020/10/30/all-that-but-missing-your-bag-of-chips/
“Back in the day” there was a piece of advice that admonished us to remember that if you went on a first date, or when you invited the boss to dinner, or while you were at work, or during sim...
https://aphablog.com/2020/09/15/science-darwin-and-advocacy-ethics/
No one can ever be expected to know everything about everything at the moment they need to know it. Yet, if there’s one thing I’ve learned about medical providers – and too many health advo...
https://aphablog.com/2020/09/10/its-fair-to-say-i-dont-know/
This post was originally published in July 2013, and was updated in July 2020. Two unrelated stories have crossed my path, but their bottom lines are the same. It’s too easy to be fooled. Story...
https://aphablog.com/2020/07/06/beware-wolves-sheeps-clothing/
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone told me “I want to join the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates because I’m good at advocacy, I’ve done it for years for friends and famil...
(This post is being published in May 2020 – in the midst of the pandemic – when many advocates are working from home, and hopefully taking time to update and improve their business practices....
https://aphablog.com/2020/05/15/bogus-claims-will-come-back-to-bite-you/
Covid-19 Update: April 1, 2020 Sadly, but not surprisingly, I know those of you in practice just aren’t hearing much from new business / clients these days. Beyond the fact that everyone still ...
Covid-19 Update: March 21, 2020 Responses to my previous post indicate many advocates are beginning to emerge from your “OMG” moments and trying to figure out how to get started, to prepare y...
Covid-19 Update: March 19, 2020 During the past week, as the coronavirus / COVID-19 crisis has taken over our lives, I have heard from many advocates who are taking all the steps needed to stay s...
https://aphablog.com/2020/03/19/update-2-covid-19-the-right-attitude/
If you consider a bacon-and-egg breakfast, what is the difference between the chicken and the pig? It’s a question that determines commitment. While the chicken can produce many eggs over a lif...
https://aphablog.com/2020/02/13/are-you-the-chicken-or-the-pig/
You’re probably shaking your head… Criminal? Seriously? Of course you haven’t broken the law! You’re a law-abiding citizen and would never consider doing such a thing! And yet, there may ...
https://aphablog.com/2019/10/28/you-may-be-a-criminal-without-even-knowing-it/
I’m a political being and a news junkie. Can’t help it. It’s in my blood – literally – because both my father and grandfather (Dad’s father) were journalists, both avidly interested i...
https://aphablog.com/2019/09/30/political-controversy-we-are-being-tested-once-again/
They have been the fastest, most exhausting, most rewarding, and most humbling years of my life… And they result in a story in which the universe has played quite a large role. On September 18,...
As children across the US and Canada start kindergarten this time of the year, I’m reminded of Robert Fulghum’s book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, a classic, published...
Suppose I go to my favorite pizza shop and this conversation takes place: Me: I would like a pepperoni pizza with black olives, onions, and extra cheese. Johnny the Pizza Guy: Sure! I’d be hap...
https://aphablog.com/2019/08/12/self-centered-and-unbusinesslike/
“Only rich people can afford an advocate.” Or: “Doesn’t providing private patient advocacy services only to those who can afford them, just create one more division between the “haves�...
https://aphablog.com/2019/07/29/going-on-offense-who-deserves-an-advocates-help/
When people ask you what you do for a living, what do you – as an independent health / patient advocate, or care manager — reply to them? It would be simple to say “I am an advocate” whic...
Heard on the street (and on the phone, and during an in-person conversation, and by text….) IFs and THENs: If was just ______, then ______ ! You’ll have your own variations to fill in there,...
https://aphablog.com/2019/06/17/raise-your-dues-so-we-can-turn-the-titanic/
As advocates, we all quickly become familiar with, and embrace, and share with clients, our Code of Ethics.* Of course, there are many tenets to the code, but primary among them is the very speci...
https://aphablog.com/2019/06/03/what-biases-dont-you-recognize/
I spent the weekend gardening. It’s spring, after all. Since my last assault on my garden last Fall, many plants got leggy, or died, or just needed rehab of some sort. Unlike many of my neighbo...
https://aphablog.com/2019/05/20/less-becomes-more-where-subtraction-has-positive-results/
OK, yes, I’m dating myself… One of my favorite Simon and Garfunkel songs is Bridge Over Troubled Water. I’ve been humming it repeatedly over the last few weeks, and last week, we let the ad...
https://aphablog.com/2019/04/29/simon-and-garfunkel-an-anthem-to-advocacy/
Back in the 1950s, into the 1960s, a game show called Who Do You Trust? aired where couples were asked questions, and one had to “trust” the other to answer it (or not!). If you remember the ...
https://aphablog.com/2019/02/18/johnny-carson-game-shows-and-a-lesson-about-trust/
Over the years, one of my favorite things to do has been to work with / speak to / address college students. They are young, aren’t yet set in their ways, still hope to save the world, are naiv...
Last week, I received an email from a woman, I’ll call her Miranda, taking me to task for an article I had written that she found online. If Miranda had her way, I’d be walking the plank abou...
https://aphablog.com/2019/01/21/loaded-for-bear-may-mean-no-care/
12 years. While on the one hand, 12 years seems like a looong time, on the other hand, it has gone by in the blink of an eye. I’m referring to the 12 years I’ve focused my professional life o...
https://aphablog.com/2018/10/23/successes-failures-and-my-biggest-surprise/
Andrea is confused, and if Andrea is confused, others among you are, too. She’s just the one who asked. (You might want to thank her!) Andrea posted a comment on a previous APHA Blog post calle...
https://aphablog.com/2018/10/08/licensed-certified-uppercase-lowercase-where-are-you/
In response to one of the most frequently asked questions I get as the director of The Alliance of Professional Health Advocates – I might be providing an answer you don’t expect. That’s OK...
https://aphablog.com/2018/07/23/independent-advocacys-three-legged-stool-of-success/
In April of this year, patient advocates convened in San Diego for the APHA Summits to mix and mingle, learn, and talk shop… Joining us was the video crew from HBO’s Vice News, led by produce...
It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s always an eyeopener and usually quite unsettling. When done well, and handled well, it can turn out to be therapeutic, and has the potential fo...
https://aphablog.com/2018/06/11/btching-and-moaning-therapeutic-and-educational/
Channeling Paul Harvey today…. (Don’t know who Paul Harvey is? Maybe you’re too young, or you never spent much time listening to Talk Radio… Paul Harvey was famous for his radio broadcast...
Over the holiday weekend – Memorial Day Weekend – I pondered the sacrifices soldiers have made for our country. I expect you did, too. I’m married to a retired soldier. My husband spent 20 ...
https://aphablog.com/2018/05/29/serving-ones-country-as-a-healthcare-soldier/
…then it’s time to get logical. And logic will triumph! As many readers know, I’m in the process of coordinating our APHA Summits. We had our first Summit adventure in San Diego a few weeks...
The “mean girls” are at it again… or so I’ve been warned by a handful of APHA members. I’m not sure I agree. But I know one thing for sure: the world of the mean girls has shifted. Who ...
https://aphablog.com/2018/05/07/revisiting-the-mean-girls-in-our-new-advocacy-environment/
Many readers of this blog are familiar with, or are already listed in the AdvoConnection Directory. It’s THE place to be for private, professional, independent advocates who want to be found an...
Last week two of my friends invited me to participate with them in a local March for Our Lives event being held Saturday. If you are tuned into the news and politics of today, you know that march...
https://aphablog.com/2018/03/26/stop-halt-keep-quiet-or-lose-business/
You don’t have to be a huge fan of Dr. Phil’s to appreciate his delightful and useful sayings. He boils down important and sometimes complex concepts into downhome philosophy that helps us be...
https://aphablog.com/2018/02/26/pancakes-snakes-red-flags-and-advocacy/
I played golf the other day with a group of women I didn’t know well. I came away from the round being less pleased with my golf game (I really can’t putt!), but much pleased with the convers...
https://aphablog.com/2018/02/19/fashionistas-what-hats-does-an-advocate-wear/
As 2017 comes to a close, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the blog posts you, my readers, considered to be most worth your reading time. Using post analytics, I’m able to se...
https://aphablog.com/2017/12/18/top-10-best-of-apha-posts-2017-in-review/
The shocking news last week (although not-so-shocking to some) that Matt Lauer had been kicked to the curb by NBC came in tandem with an email conversation with a newly minted health advocate who...
https://aphablog.com/2017/12/04/what-matt-lauer-can-teach-us-about-private-independent-advocacy/
One of the simplest best practices for patient advocates is also the one with the fuzziest line. Sometimes it can be difficult to know at what point that fuzzy line will be crossed, and since cro...
Those of us who stay on top of patient advocacy-related news got a jolt from this headline, “Patient Advocacy Groups Rake In Donations From Pharma.” Just the jolt itself suggests that a few c...
Are you a TV watcher? I am. Big time. I love TV. And because of that, more often than I care to admit, I draw inspiration from TV shows and characters. (As a side confession here, we’ve been bi...
https://aphablog.com/2017/10/02/my-person-my-people-building-partnerships-expanding-your-practice/
If we have learned anything about ourselves in the past 10 days, it’s that there are some people in this world we will never be able to understand or condone. Between the skirmishes in Charlott...
https://aphablog.com/2017/08/22/saying-no-and-refusing-to-serve-how-to-draw-that-line/
My husband and I moved 14 months ago to Florida. Since then, each time I’ve been on the highway, I’ve seen billboards which have fascinated me. They advertise the Florida Citrus Centers which...
You know Plan B. Plan B is your go-to option when what you thought would work, didn’t. It’s the answer to the question, “What will you do when life gets in the way?” I was reminded of Pla...
https://aphablog.com/2017/07/17/you-cant-do-life-or-business-without-plan-b/
Please indulge me today. I’m going to share a very personal experience I rarely think about anymore, in hopes it will propel some good advocacy. Sometimes months go by when I barely give it any...
https://aphablog.com/2017/06/26/an-anniversary-meltdowns-blessings-and-fuel-for-advocates/
Earlier this year we hosted one of our APHA Workshop weekends*, with about 30 individuals who are somewhere in the process of growing an advocacy practice. The APHA Workshops were originally desi...
https://aphablog.com/2017/06/20/advocates-are-afraid-to-do-this-until-they-love-to-do-it/
And, finally, the fourth and last in our series of skills, abilities and attributes that all successful advocates and care managers must. Find Part I of the Dirty Dozen. Find Part II of the Dirty...
https://aphablog.com/2017/05/30/part-iv-the-dirty-dozen-skills-abilities/
Yes, Part II, as promised in our first installment last week when we began with the first four attributes of successful advocates. Find Part I of the Dirty Dozen. Which of these describe you and ...
Many readers know that my husband and I moved last year to Florida from Upstate NY, where – yes, thank you! – we have truly enjoyed this winter. No shoveling, mostly mild temperatures, lots o...
https://aphablog.com/2017/04/10/the-birdcage-how-to-ruin-a-first-impression/
Most of us working as advocates apply the word “profession” to our work. Those who have been advocates for a longer period of time might tell you it has turned into a career. I often hear fro...
https://aphablog.com/2017/02/27/a-career-a-profession-and-a-calling-with-responsibility-too/
This isn’t intended to be a political statement, even if it has its roots in the political nastiness and vitriol taking place in the United States Congress. That said, perhaps it IS political. ...
Since I started this blog, and as each new year begins, I try to think of ways to challenge advocate-readers (and advocate-wannabe-readers) with ways they can improve their work, their results fo...
https://aphablog.com/2017/01/09/the-2017-advocates-challenges/
Two years ago we asked whether a health/patient advocate can also be a decision-maker for her client in the form of being a healthcare proxy or guardian (the patient-designated person who makes e...
https://aphablog.com/2016/10/31/advocate-and-proxy-too-making-decisions-for-clients/
Many readers of this blog (members of The Alliance of Professional Health Advocates) know we’ve been burning the candle at both ends trying to complete the build of the new APHA membership webs...
https://aphablog.com/2016/10/24/carly-simon-ketchup-and-an-advocates-secret-sauce/
I live and work in Florida now. For the first time in my adult life, I live in a state where there’s a real possibility that my vote in the upcoming presidential election will make a difference...
https://aphablog.com/2016/10/10/like-putting-ponze-in-charge-of-my-retirement-savings-a-rant/
Last week I shared with you two stories of my physician heroes, why they are my heroes, their relationship to my work in patient empowerment and patient advocacy, and why you, too, should emulate...
https://aphablog.com/2016/10/04/of-heroes-trust-discord-arrogance-and-karma-part-ii/
This year I can tell I’m finally getting beyond the trauma. It’s a feeling of freedom to some extent, but sort of a shame to another. And you know me – I always end up analyzing these thing...
https://aphablog.com/2016/09/26/of-heroes-trust-discord-arrogance-and-karma-part-i/
Several weeks ago, a couple we know were married. It was a wonderfully happy event, celebrated by many. The wedding itself was elegant, and beautiful, and everyone had a delightful time at the re...
https://aphablog.com/2016/09/19/the-starfish-story-curmudgeon/
I’m guessing you don’t think of your body parts as making important contributions to your advocacy career. But they certainly do! In the past we’ve talked about the importance of your ears ...
https://aphablog.com/2016/09/12/an-independent-care-professionals-most-important-body-part/
Twenty years ago, prior to self-employment and work in patient empowerment and advocacy, I was the marketing director for my local community college. In so many ways I loved that job. It was diff...
https://aphablog.com/2016/08/01/our-clients-need-this-one-skill-the-most/
The whole world was fascinated last month by Brexit: the vote in Britain to leave the European Union. Would they leave? Wouldn’t they? But to me, the most fascinating part was what happened the...
https://aphablog.com/2016/07/18/preventing-our-own-brexit-saving-our-clients-and-advocacy-practices/
Early in my patient empowerment work, I was invited to write a column for my local daily newspaper. Over the next six years, I wrote hundreds of columns on every empowerment topic imaginable from...
Since moving last month, I now live not far from Orlando. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know the tragic and horrible events that have surrounded this city during the past ten days...
https://aphablog.com/2016/06/20/balance-in-all-things-we-create-a-world-of-good/
From 2006 to 2010, I hosted a weekly radio show, sponsored by Upstate Medical University (Syracuse, NY). It gave me the opportunity to interview truly knowledgeable experts in every aspect of med...
Years ago, I hosted a radio show where I had the opportunity to interview medical providers from many specialties about their work with patients. One of the recurring themes was that “Patients ...
You may remember Robert Fulghum’s book, published in the 1980s, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten… The book is a group of essays focused on the wisdom that helps us lead a g...
https://aphablog.com/2016/04/11/patient-advocates-and-the-kindergarten-principles/
A few weeks ago, I wrote Fool Me Once, Shame on You, But Fool Me Twice about the problems that can hurt patient-clients which also hurt our profession because they violate our ethical principles ...
https://aphablog.com/2016/04/04/mixed-messages-are-just-a-lawsuit-waiting-to-happen/
The most prestigious award in the profession of patient advocacy, and in particular, independent, private patient advocacy is awarded this time each year to the person who best exemplifies the te...
From bold-faced lies to misrepresentation – facts that aren’t facts, withholding information, skirting the code of ethics, and shades of truth – honesty and the advocacy business have been ...
https://aphablog.com/2016/03/07/fool-me-once-shame-on-you-but-fool-me-twice/
Posted in the APHA Discussion Forum by one of our member advocates, In the last week I have received calls from 2 potential clients whose physicians actually advised them to get a Patient Advocat...
https://aphablog.com/2016/02/01/physicians-buying-in-bring-on-the-patient-advocates/
If you think about it, rule-breaking plays an enormous role in the life and work of a patient advocate. Rule breaking – is one reason (even if it’s not the only reasons) we exist – a proble...
In July 2015, we took a look at the case of Farid Fata, the Michigan oncologist who is now in prison on fraud charges because he diagnosed and treated more than 500 people for cancer they didn’...
Greetings in this new year 2016! I invite you to sit back, and picture yourself in that audience above as I provide you with a status report of sorts on the growth of the profession of patient ad...
During the next few weeks, just prior to January 1, our brains begin to process the “Oh no! A new year is about to arrive! It’s time to make another New Year’s resolution!” And then, the...
(Warning! Today I’m sharing a personal opinion for which I don’t expect total agreement. But I’m steadfast in my belief. I have science behind me. I’m girded for argument… bring it on!)...
This is a message with a little tough love for some of the folks I encounter – Pollyannas – who are choosing advocacy as career move. Sorry Pollyanna – but there is no room for you in patie...
https://aphablog.com/2015/11/02/step-aside-pollyanna-theres-no-room-here-for-you/
Today we’re channeling The Who, Merriam Webster and one of my longtime favorite fellow patient empowerment buddies, Gary Schwitzer, who reminds me at least weekly why we just can’t trust the ...
https://aphablog.com/2015/10/19/merriam-webster-the-who-and-hacking-churnalism/
This is the question that has plagued me as the director of a professional patient advocacy organization since it was first launched. It’s a question that usually comes from someone who is just...
https://aphablog.com/2015/09/28/why-i-hope-these-pigs-never-fly-and-you-should-too/
In 2012, I blogged about this very topic. One ticked-off reader then attacked me on Twitter. A day later, both she and another member of The Alliance of Professional Health Advocates left the org...
https://aphablog.com/2015/09/21/the-advice-that-may-tick-you-off/
My dad retired in the 1980s. In addition to his pension he had also earned health insurance coverage for the rest of his life. Over time, as you can imagine, the actual value of that insurance be...
https://aphablog.com/2015/09/14/goldilocks-dad-and-finding-care-thats-just-right/
“But she is so upset with me now!” That was the response from an advocate who wrote to me after an unpleasant encounter with a former client. Even though they had not worked together for more...
(Channeling the Plain White T’s here…) The book is a childhood classic, Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree. It tells the story of a tree that gives all it has to a boy as he grows from litt...
https://aphablog.com/2015/08/16/8-ways-your-advocacy-practice-may-be-like-the-giving-tree/
Yes, sadly (although rarely) a patient advocate might do more harm than good. I was reminded of this recently when I heard from an APHA member who had picked up the ball from another advocate (no...
https://aphablog.com/2015/08/10/can-an-advocate-do-more-harm-than-good/
I’ve stewed over this for years, since 2013 when he was first arrested. But ever since Farid Fata was sentenced to 45 years in prison (ONLY 45!) for fraud, I’m like a dog with a bone. I just ...
https://aphablog.com/2015/07/20/a-second-opinion-isnt-good-enough/
On Friday, Dr. Farid Fata was sentenced to 45 years in prison in the state of Michigan. If you read or watch the news reports you would think the reason behind his long sentence had something to ...
https://aphablog.com/2015/07/11/how-professional-patient-advocates-would-have-stopped-farid-fata/
(Originally published June 2015. Updated June 2020) This week (2015) we were contacted by two major TV news outlets requesting interviews with advocates – one a national broadcast outlet, the o...
https://aphablog.com/2015/06/29/just-where-is-that-privacy-line/
This week the Chicago Tribune featured patient advocacy as a growing trend – a marvelous exposure to private advocacy for the uninitiated (uninitiated = most of the known universe). Several of ...
https://aphablog.com/2015/04/27/misleading-headline-provides-an-opportunity/
A recent email exchange with an APHA member highlighted a point we don’t make often enough, and one you need to embrace so you can discuss it with potential clients. The problem is – she used...
https://aphablog.com/2015/04/20/enemies-no-but-with-an-important-distinction/
Warning! This will be one of those posts you think back to from time to time, because the answers aren’t clear or easy, and the stakes are so high. A few weeks ago we all watched the news about...
https://aphablog.com/2015/04/13/do-advocates-have-a-duty-to-report-dangerous-patients/
Ken Schueler, before he passed away in 2011, was the most exemplary of professional, independent patient advocates. He was kind and compassionate, extremely knowledgeable, a great businessman, an...
https://aphablog.com/2015/03/09/the-2015-schueler-patient-advocacy-compass-award-winner-is/
They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery. While there may be some truth to that, there is no truth to the idea that plagiarism is a form of flattery at all. In my last post I share...
https://aphablog.com/2015/03/02/has-your-work-been-plagiarized/
Updated 2/10/2020 Like Jeopardy, I’m going to start by giving you the answer: Patients and Caregivers Smart Health and Patient Advocates So what’s the question? That would be: Who are the big...
https://aphablog.com/2015/02/16/head-to-head-toe-to-toe-and-who-are-the-big-winners/
In Fall 2010, about 150 health advocates, many of whom were just considering entering the profession, convened in Washington DC for the Second Annual NAHAC Conference. I was there at the invitati...
OK – I will set the stage for this blog post with a true confession… I graduated from high school in 1969. (Go ahead – do the math!) So you can imagine I was interested in this post on Mash...
https://aphablog.com/2015/01/19/be-bold-like-wearing-pants-to-school/
One of the most visible changes in the new health insurance reality are the medical bill surprises people are receiving that they never received before, for services covered previously as a matte...
https://aphablog.com/2015/01/12/sorry-thats-not-good-enough/
“Happy New Year to you and much happiness and success in 2015!”… You know that all business conducted by email or holiday card during the past few weeks has ended with just that greeting �...
https://aphablog.com/2015/01/05/a-new-year-and-the-responsibility-of-potential/
Remember that TV show from a decade or more ago? When a contestant failed to answer a quiz question correctly, the host would sternly declare, “YOU ARE the WEAKEST LINK. GOOD-BYE!”? Remaining...
A recent conversation with a handful of knowledgeable people, people I respect a great deal, yielded two different outcomes – either a loud “yes, of course!!” or a loud “no, no way!” So...
https://aphablog.com/2014/10/13/health-advocacy-ethics-conflict-of-interest-or-important-service/
I received an email from a woman named Irma. She wants to become a health advocate, to assist people in her community who have Alzheimers. (Bless her for that.) But she was laid off from her job,...
https://aphablog.com/2014/09/29/cruel-to-be-kind-and-kind-to-be-cruel/
One of my favorite words: Chutzpah! Pronounced “hoots-pah.” A Yiddish word translated as “shameless audacity” or “supreme self-confidence,” as in (according to Merriam-Webster) “per...
https://aphablog.com/2014/09/15/chutzpah-know-when-it-crosses-the-line/
I heard from a friend that he recently sold his start-up business after years of building it to do just that. Wow! I was so impressed! “Take a break!” I replied. “I can only imagine how muc...
https://aphablog.com/2014/07/14/the-real-cost-of-selling-ones-soul/
Years ago, in my salad days, I took a new marketing job after being interviewed by a gentleman who seemed as nice as anyone I had ever met in a workplace. It didn’t take me long to learn my new...
https://aphablog.com/2014/06/09/hidden-agendas-and-being-used/
A Memorial Day Tribute My husband is retired from the Air Force* after serving for 20 years during the Vietnam era. My father served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. These two veterans,...
(Updated February 2017) Recently we relaunched one of our APHA networking benefits, Special Interest Groups (SIGs). They provide members with the opportunity to connect with like-minded professio...
(Apologies for the lists that no longer work in this post. In early summer 2014, About.com deleted almost 1000 posts and articles I had written. The points below are still valid, but I wanted you...
https://aphablog.com/2014/04/28/saving-your-clients-from-jerks-crooks-and-malintents/
Ramona – whose real name was Rosemary – has died. She did it (mostly) her way. I first shared Ramona/Rosemary’s story with you a few months ago. She had contacted me through my patient empo...
https://aphablog.com/2014/04/21/rip-ramona-with-appreciation-for-the-lessons-she-taught-us/
(updated January 2017) We’ve seen fireworks in the APHA Forum before. And we’ve dealt with them. The beautiful thing about the Forum is that allows free conversations on every topic imaginabl...
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 advo...
It was the SMELL – you know, that noxious, horrifying smell of burning rubber… That’s what alerted me to my smoldering coffee pot which was no longer just heating my coffee… No flames (OK...
https://aphablog.com/2014/03/10/my-coffee-pot-caught-fire-and-other-lessons-for-advocates/
Several weeks ago I was contacted by Ramona*, a woman in her 50s who is leading what she considers to be a horrible, no-quality life. She is tied to machines for all but about 2 hours a day, she ...
https://aphablog.com/2014/02/02/death-dying-unhappiness-and-misery-have-been-on-my-mind/
If anyone decides one day to research and write the history of private, independent patient advocacy, they will likely put the genesis of the profession as 2009, when the first two advocacy organ...
Today I’m going to brag about my sister – to make a point. I expect it will embarrass her a little (no intention to do that) but she illustrates something very important – a good lesson for...
This is one of those questions I’m asked frequently. It recently popped up again: When will private patient advocates be reimbursed by insurance? In fairness, the question is usually asked by t...
https://aphablog.com/2013/12/09/insurance-reimbursements-for-patient-advocates/
In the patient empowerment corner of my world, a complaint or fear I hear voiced by patients is the fear of retaliation. They are afraid that if they speak up to their doctors, or ask questions, ...
https://aphablog.com/2013/11/10/what-patients-fear-the-waiter-will-spit-in-their-soup/
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...
https://aphablog.com/2013/10/14/a-surefire-way-to-drive-older-clients-away/
One aspect of healthcare that not enough people understand is about the role of technology for providing medical services: how it should be used, when it should be used, and why it should be used...
https://aphablog.com/2013/10/06/hi-tech-scalability-and-the-human-role-of-health-advocates/
Do you consider yourself a Certified Patient Advocate or Certified Health Advocate? I hate to burst bubbles here, but no matter who you are, or what courses or programs you have taken, no matter ...
https://aphablog.com/2013/09/30/certified-patient-or-health-advocate-here-we-go-again/
The collision of my two professional worlds is keeping me up at night. It provides a cautionary tale for private, independent patient advocates. Not all readers of this blog know that I have my f...
https://aphablog.com/2013/09/15/the-tragedies-that-keep-me-up-at-night/
With only two weeks to go before our Alliance of Professional Health Advocates Business & Marketing workshops, we still have a few seats left! I know that in the past when I’ve been on the fenc...
Suppose you wake up one morning, and realize as you make your way to the kitchen that someone has broken in overnight and stolen your belongings! You never heard anything – you slept right thro...
Hey y’all! If someone had asked you on the June 20, 2013 to describe Paula Deen, you might have described her as a bubbly, vivacious, popular Food Network star, author, well-merchandised cook o...
https://aphablog.com/2013/06/30/what-private-patient-advocates-can-learn-from-paula-deen/
I’ve just written a post at About.com about my recent mammogram experience where the breast center I’ve gone to for more than a decade managed to dissolve my trust of their service in the spa...
https://aphablog.com/2013/05/26/suspicious-phone-call-suggests-a-way-to-garner-trust/
It happened one more time this week, frustrating me one more time this week, making me feel like a broken record again this week and then realizing…. hey! Why not make this point louder and cle...
One of the most valuable resources any profession has is access to other people who are also invested in the interests of that profession. The internet and social media, of course, provide an opp...
https://aphablog.com/2013/02/10/bring-it-on-forum-fireworks-erupt-again/
Just in the past week alone, I’ve been asked three times why someone would hire a private patient advocate when there are so many other forms of help available. What other forms would those be?...
https://aphablog.com/2013/02/03/an-advocates-allegiance-makes-all-the-difference/
I’m really angry at the investment firm Morgan Stanley – really angry. I have had to deal with them since my father died, trying to manage and move a small IRA my sisters and I inherited, and...
https://aphablog.com/2013/01/28/if-i-could-file-a-lawsuit-i-would/
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 ...
https://aphablog.com/2012/09/16/start-and-grow-your-independentprivate-advocacy-practice/
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...
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 t...
My travels over the past two weeks have ultimately taken me to Florida where I’ll be staying for awhile to spend time with my dad. It’s the latest in many, many visits, which I mention only b...
https://aphablog.com/2012/05/06/where-do-spirituality-and-religion-come-in/
Today’s post is very personal, reflecting a situation I believe many families go through, brought on by any number of attitudes and fears. I’m hoping that by sharing it, you can find a role f...
https://aphablog.com/2012/04/29/getting-your-clients-past-magical-thinking/
Scenario: Joan, age 75, living in Ft. Lauderdale, was diagnosed with Stage IV Ovarian Cancer. Joan’s daughter, Beth, who lives in Kansas, contacts Maxine, a private patient advocate and RN who ...
https://aphablog.com/2012/04/22/whats-a-bad-outcome-and-where-does-the-fault-lie/
In less than one week, we will be announcing the winner of this year’s Schueler Patient Advocacy Compass Award. This is a big deal – and not just for the winner, who will find some perks that...
https://aphablog.com/2012/02/26/lets-talk-about-excellence-in-patient-and-health-advocacy/
I’ll confess that I’m not a big football fan. And I’m certainly not a big fan of sports metaphors (which actually drive me crazy in business because I think they are exclusionary – not ev...
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 ...
https://aphablog.com/2012/01/16/coopetition-but-dont-give-away-the-farm/
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...
https://aphablog.com/2011/12/11/why-we-should-avoid-using-the-title-certified-patient-advocate/
Just so you know we pay attention, three important concerns have popped up about the Schueler Compass Award, the award recently announced at the AdvoConnection conference. These concerns came in ...
https://aphablog.com/2011/11/21/clarifications-and-an-update-on-the-schueler-compass-award/
Several months ago I wrote about the tendency of big-hearted advocates to over-extend themselves with volunteer work; that when someone needs their help, but doesn’t have the means to pay them,...
(Originally posted June 2011. Updated June 2019) The health and patient advocates who are listed at AdvoConnection are all private practice advocates; that is, they work directly for patients and...
https://aphablog.com/2011/06/05/the-great-divide-the-haves-and-have-nots/
One of my favorite things about patient advocates and navigators is that they are very generous, kind and giving people. They figure out what needs to be done, and they step up to the plate to do...
The answer is simple. No. So why do I ask this question? Earlier this month, while attending the NAHAC Conference, the question was asked by a number of people. As if the qualification to be an e...
https://aphablog.com/2010/11/14/do-i-have-to-be-a-nurse-to-be-a-patient-advocate/