doctors / physicians

Patient Advocates and HIPAA

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Lately I’ve run into questions and discussions about patient advocates or navigators and HIPAA, so it seems a good topic for today’s post. I’ll begin with a disclaimer: there’s no one on this green planet that can give you ALL the answers as they relate to HIPAA! No, not even the lawyers who live it every day. It’s complex and daunting. But there are some basics that might be useful. Here are the basics that can be useful to advocates: 1. It’s HIPAA, not HIPPA. HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act. Notice, it doesn’t say anything about …

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Improving Patient Relationships – What I Told the Providers

To say my trek to Alaska was overwhelmingly positive wouldn’t begin to touch the real experience. Alaska itself was glaciers, salmon, midnight sun, king crab legs, and learning that in Fairbanks everyone has an extension cord popping out the front of their cars, so they can plug them in during the winter to keep the engine and oil from freezing. Who knew? But the most fulfilling experience was working with the people who attended the workshops I taught. Warm, open, receptive, fun, willing to participate and learn, they were doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses, nurse educators, dieticians, pharmacists, a psychiatrist, front …

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Doctor Recommendations – Do You? Should You?

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I was quite surprised in a conversation recently with an advocate who is not (yet) a member of AdvoConnection. OK. That’s putting it mildly. I was actually stunned. “Why do people feel well served by you?” I asked him. “Because I have a beeline into all the good doctors,” he replied. When I asked him to explain further, he said it was because he knew the best doctors to recommend and which ones to tell patients to avoid. [Pause. Letting that sink in…] In conversations with both long-time advocates, and lawyers, too… and honestly – what makes common sense – …

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APHA Blog : The Alliance of Professional Health Advocates
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