Once in awhile a topic in the APHA Connect! Discussion Forum takes on a life of its own. The recent conversation regarding liability / professional / E&O (errors and omissions) insurance for advo...
https://aphablog.com/2021/11/28/the-advocacy-business-insurance-conundrum/
“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/
Think of the successful business people you know or know of. They probably run different kinds of businesses, even non-profits. Their businesses are different sizes, too – from solopreneurs to ...
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...
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/
Most advocates and care managers I know have huge hearts. They want to help everyone who needs help! They truly dislike having to charge money for their services (because many have done this work...
https://aphablog.com/2020/01/29/charging-on-a-sliding-scale-just-creates-a-can-of-worms/
“My directory listing doesn’t attract enough clients. What am I doing wrong?” “I get calls, but we hang up the phone without a contract! What am I doing wrong?” “I finished working wi...
https://aphablog.com/2020/01/20/need-more-clients-3-marketing-realities-and-resources/
An Open Letter to an Advocate Who Questions Her APHA Membership Received last week from Esther (not her real name): If you would please clarify a few things I’d really appreciate it.It’s time...
https://aphablog.com/2019/04/15/assessing-value-the-cost-of-meat-and-potatoes/
Over the years, dozens of professional advocate wannabes have talked to me about fear, including Fear of failure Fear of doing the wrong thing for a client Fear of failure Fear of losing their sa...
This is a question – or a statement – I hear frequently from those who wish to be independent health or patient advocates who are considering which business formation they need to set up to b...
I’ve been working on updating the AdvoConnection Directory website because it was time, because search engines look favorably upon updates. And because my not-frequent-enough review of the site...
https://aphablog.com/2019/03/04/how-does-a-patient-choose-the-best-advocate-to-hire/
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...
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/
I’m often asked what questions people ask me most frequently. The answer is some variation of this family of questions: How much does an advocate charge? What is the hourly rate for health or p...
https://aphablog.com/2018/09/10/how-much-do-patient-advocates-charge/
The phone rings. It’s a new, potential client calling. You answer, “This is Joan Advocate. May I help you?” The client, Juanita, is relieved to hear your friendly voice. She launches into h...
https://aphablog.com/2018/06/25/to-gain-a-new-client-youll-have-to-break-2-bad-habits/
Regular readers of this blog know a couple of things about me. For one thing, they know I live in Florida, having moved here from Upstate NY two years ago, no longer willing to freeze my cabungus...
…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...
I had interesting conversations with someday-advocates last week. I love those conversations; I always learn something from them which I can then bring back to the Alliance and the information we...
https://aphablog.com/2018/04/23/should-insurance-provide-reimbursement-to-independent-advocates/
This past week, for the first time, AdvoConnection Directory-listed APHA members were able to access their statistics (analytics) for their AdvoConnection profiles. How many visitors found the ad...
It’s that time of year when, every time we turn around, we’re being reminded that it’s time to file our income tax returns. I rank those moments right down there with getting a tooth drille...
https://aphablog.com/2018/03/05/income-tax-time-saving-money-and-saving-trouble/
The real shame of this new series of posts is that it’s the result of feedback from people who gave up on their dreams of starting and growing independent, private advocacy practices. The furth...
https://aphablog.com/2018/01/15/3-myths-about-building-an-independent-advocacy-practice/
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/
How is it possible we’ve reached the end of 2017 already? Why does it seem like the years zoom past us faster than the previous ones did? As we marvel at how quickly time passes, we, as small b...
https://aphablog.com/2017/12/11/save-money-and-time-with-these-end-of-the-year-tasks/
Consider Bertha. Bertha has been knitting since learning how at age 12. She’s a wonderful knitter! She has been knitting for decades – scarves, sweaters, hats, gloves and mittens, socks, you ...
https://aphablog.com/2017/11/06/if-an-advocate-launches-in-the-forest-and-no-one-hears/
What a MESS Open Enrollment is this year! No matter where your health insurance comes from – an employer, the Obamacare exchanges, or Medicare – it’s changed up, switched up, and more confu...
https://aphablog.com/2017/10/30/open-enrollment-confusion-spells-opportunity/
Long-time readers of this blog know my frustration over newly-minted private, independent advocates volunteering their time as a way to prepare to be professional advocates. Newbie advocates cite...
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/
It’s entirely possible to start a new business on a shoestring. We know this, because every publication worth the paper or website it’s published on tells us so: Forbes, USA Today, Entreprene...
https://aphablog.com/2017/06/12/the-most-expensive-business-to-start/
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 ...
Over the years, I have connected with thousands of people who intend to become independent health advocates and care managers, and 99.9% of them have one thing in common: their choice of health a...
https://aphablog.com/2017/01/16/when-passion-and-reality-collide/
It’s the question I’m asked by newbies more frequently than any other: How much can I charge? (BTW – what they really mean is – How much can I make?) To answer those questions in 2014, I ...
https://aphablog.com/2016/12/05/charge-more-its-good-for-everyone-including-your-clients/
When President Barack Obama ran for office in 2008, healthcare reform was already an enormous and contentious topic. In those days, I was invited to speak to dozens of groups of patients and care...
https://aphablog.com/2016/11/14/what-the-presidential-election-results-mean-for-patient-advocates/
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/
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/
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/
We privately paid, independent, professional patient advocates “tend to be older, white, female, more highly educated, and have other medical training or past careers in related professions.”...
https://aphablog.com/2016/07/11/survey-says-the-results-are-in/
We’ve made the decision. We’re leaving the cold Northeastern winters behind, and in just a few weeks my husband and I will be moving south. We’ve sold our home in Upstate NY. We’ve purcha...
https://aphablog.com/2016/04/18/these-8-yard-sale-lessons-may-improve-your-advocacy-practice/
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/
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’...
You may be in the process of making up your holiday shopping and to-do lists… So while you are at it, here’s another important list to make – this one for your advocacy practice. When if yo...
https://aphablog.com/2015/11/30/8-end-of-the-year-tasks-for-smart-care-professionals/
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/
“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...
We hear about scams and frauds every day in the news. An elderly person is convinced to donate money to a scam charity, or doctors defraud Medicare, or someone’s identity is stolen, or the IRS�...
https://aphablog.com/2015/06/01/non-payer-or-scammer-a-new-step-for-client-engagement/
(Reviewed and Updated February 2022) It’s a good year to revisit patient advocacy services and income taxes. Our first review came in 2010. We looked again in 2013. While little (maybe nothing)...
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/
Consider these scenarios: Scenario #1. Jane calls you, in a panic. Her mother, age 88, who lives in your city, has fallen at her nursing home. Mother Frederick has been hospitalized, but Jane can...
https://aphablog.com/2015/01/26/the-two-pieces-of-advice-you-will-ignore-until-you-are-burned/
“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/
< ….cue Paul Anka or Donny Osmond…. > …. Remember when you were a teenager in puppy love> Oh! You couldn’t stand to be away from the new person in your life! You knew you would love each ...
https://aphablog.com/2014/12/01/and-they-called-it-puppy-l-o-o-ve/
Last summer I came upon this great word – a word I had never heard before, but which can be used in so many aspects of conversation and life! The word is “gallimaufry.”? It means a hodgepod...
https://aphablog.com/2014/11/24/gallimaufry-your-questions-some-answers-media-and-just-stuff/
One of our APHA members* forwarded this video link to me, interested in the idea posed about starting one’s practice before it is perfect. So I watched it… And watching it was perhaps the bes...
An email this week comes from one of our APHA members, who I will call Bernice, who reminds me of how easy it is to lose sight of what is important to us when it comes to building our advocacy pr...
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/
What is it worth to find someone who can save your life? What is it worth to find someone who can provide quality to a life that has little or no quality because of health problems? What is it wo...
https://aphablog.com/2014/08/18/youre-not-charging-enough-and-its-hurting-our-entire-profession/
Here are samples of some inquiries I have received from people wanting to be advocates. See if you can guess what they all have in common: I want to help Medicaid patients find doctors who will t...
Having just returned from the APHA Business and Marketing workshops in Tampa, and in reviewing my notes and questions from attendees, I’ve come to a new conclusion about why many people have so...
https://aphablog.com/2014/04/06/asking-wtwttch-helps-to-overcome-the-paralysis-of-analysis/
Each week I’m contacted by a handful of people who have just begun thinking about becoming professional patient or health advocates. Often they share long stories – many paragraphs or several...
https://aphablog.com/2014/02/10/doing-what-you-love-right-into-a-hole/
My head is still spinning from our Business and Marketing Workshop Experience in Chicago over the weekend. While I’ve already told you how United Airlines tried to ruin the experience for me, I...
https://aphablog.com/2013/09/23/and-a-great-time-and-some-great-learning-was-had-by-all/
The healthcare reform law called the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – or Obamacare if you prefer the moniker (preferences seem to run about 50/50) – is being implemented over time. Of course, as m...
(Updated February 2019) Since the first of the year, we’ve had a record number of applications for membership in the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates (APHA), in particular those who wa...
https://aphablog.com/2013/02/24/ticked-off-applicants-help-us-clarify-the-mission/
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/
Over the past few years, increasingly, I hear from patients who (usually after hospitalization) feel that they have been unfairly billed for medical services.They contact me because they find an ...
https://aphablog.com/2012/06/25/how-health-advocates-can-save-their-clients-money/
Most members of AdvoConnection are aware of the upcoming Business Institute, but for those of you who aren’t members – you are invited, too! The cost to attend goes up this week, so this is t...
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,...
A recent post from a member advocate in our AdvoConnection Forum asked if any of our members have experience with working with self-funded insurance to offer patient advocacy services. Wouldn’t...
https://aphablog.com/2011/04/11/insurance-reimbursements-not-exactly-a-pot-of-gold/
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 ad...
https://aphablog.com/2011/03/05/patient-advocacy-and-the-allegiance-factor/
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 ...
https://aphablog.com/2011/02/05/can-a-true-patient-advocate-be-paid-by-someone-else/
One of our APHA members asked me about these differences a day or two ago… So I thought I would share my reply with you. She had called on a nursing home to see if they had interest in recommen...
In the process of writing about Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) I began looking at what constituted a “qualified medical expense,” which is the list of the...