advocacy ethics

If I Could File a Lawsuit, I Would

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 they have done their utmost to make that impossible. I’ve told the story at my About.com blog because the bottom line is – if there was such a thing as a financial services advocate, I would hire him or her. That’s a great lesson for patients, with similar concepts applied to their medical care, and will hopefully make some of your phones ring, …

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Start and Grow Your Independent, Private Advocacy Practice – Coming Soon!

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 Own Practice Handbook – is on its way. Pre-orders are now available (through October 1.) ($10 off the total of cover price, plus shipping and handling). Pre-ordered books will be mailed on or before November 1. It’s a step-by-step guide, covering soup to nuts, for starting a one person, solo practice or a partnership of two or more people. If your intent is to start …

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Don’t Shoot the Messenger

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 …

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The Health Advocate’s Olympics

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, …

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Client Discussions: Where Do Spirituality and Religion Come In?

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 because that means I have gotten to know many of Dad’s friends over the years, too. In fact, I’ve gotten to know a handful of them very well, so that I actually seek them out once I get here to be sure I have the opportunity to spend some time with them. One such friend is a gentleman I’ll call Jim, who lives next …

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Getting Your Clients Past Magical Thinking

image - magical thinking

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 for your advocacy work; a way to help families who need someone to provide a reality check. It’s about providing a gift to some of your patients and their families – in effect, giving them permission to say no to further treatment. As I thought about the situation, I remembered back many years ago when my mother, who at the time was in her 10th year …

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What’s a Bad Outcome? And Where Does the Fault Lie?

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 works in Ft. Lauderdale, to help her mother. Joan, Beth and Maxine have extensive conversations about the care Joan will need. The decision is made that Joan will need surgery and chemo. Maxine is hired to oversee the care since Beth lives so far away. The surgery goes well. The hospital stay is typical. Joan is discharged from the hospital, but three days later begins to show signs of …

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APHA Blog : The Alliance of Professional Health Advocates
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