advocate education

What the Presidential Election Results Mean for Patient Advocates

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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 caregivers to help audiences sort out the issues that comprised healthcare reform so they could, on their own, decide which aspects (if any) were important to them. From the concept of “universal” healthcare through a public option, to coverage for pre-existing conditions, to portability, tort reform, free vaccinations to develop “herd immunity,” and many more, we looked at the whole of the topic as objectively as possible. …

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Of Heroes, Trust, Discord, Arrogance, and Karma – Part II

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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 their actions; their professionalism, their behavior, and the actions they each took to buck a dysfunctional system. It’s all good, and true to karma, what went around came around – today good comes back to them. They both have stellar reputations within the community and among other physicians worldwide. Well-respected. Well-deserved reputations. Which takes us to today, and the karma that has come around to one …

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Celebrate the FUN: Anticipation, Reconnecting, and Buying New Stuff

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Fotolia: AntonioDiaz

Most of us spent at least 13 of the first 18+ years of our lives going back to school this time of year. Many of us went back to school in August or September even more years than that – through college, even grad school or medical school… And for some of us, like me, who chose teaching as a career, there were that many more years…. (In fact, I went back to school for 27 of the first 33 years of my life.) Then of course, our kids went back to school even when we didn’t… so add another …

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Whinery – How to Make Your Fortune (Take This Quiz!)

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Maybe you’ve heard that old joke: Know how to start a winery and make a small fortune? … Start with a large fortune. On my recent visit to California, I was reminded of that joke. I was teaching APHA Workshops in San Diego and it came up twice: first because one of our attendees brought me a bottle of wine from her northern California neighborhood (thanks MR – delicious!) and second…. Because we followed the money to improve attendees’ chances for success – great success! – as private, independent health and patient advocates… amidst some “whining” – because it’s a …

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Whack-a-Mole and the Zen of the Caterpillar That Became Lunch

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Tuesday was a whack-a-mole day. One thing would go wrong, I would begin to fix it, only to find something else needed fixing, too. Details with new bank accounts (have you tried opening a new business bank account lately?), an incorrect tax bill from the city where I now live and do business, hiccups with our new phone system, and myriad technical problems with the ongoing redesign and redevelopment of the APHA membership website… Yes, whack-a-mole. But Wednesday and Thursday, two experiences combined to give me new perspective, one I’ll share with you in hopes it will help you weather …

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Survey Says! The Results Are In

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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.” …. or at least that is one conclusion drawn by the surveyors — those who built, issued and analyzed the first National Health and Patient Advocate Survey.* Both private, self-employed advocates, and employed advocates (hospitals, insurers, employers), were surveyed. Whether or not you were one of the folks who took the survey, if you have any interest in patient or health advocacy as a profession, you’ll be interested in the results. They were …

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Fool Me Once, Shame on You, But Fool Me Twice….

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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 on my mind. This topic was actually triggered by something that has nothing to do with advocacy at all, something that seems relatively innocuous, but then, maybe not-so-innocuous at all: the purchase of a 5-lb bag of sugar to bake holiday cookies last December. Now a 5-lb bag of sugar has always been a 5-lb bag of sugar and has yielded a certain number of batches of cookies. I’ve been buying …

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