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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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Our Clients Need This ONE Skill the Most

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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 different every day and allowed me to meet and get to know people I never would have known in any other way. It required me to get out into the college community to meet faculty, other administrative departments, and students. It required me to have good relations with the press, and because it was during a recession, it required me to be creative and clever to bring …

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Would You Draw a Line?

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from Wikipedia

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 how to get copies of your own medical records, to how to research a drug your doctor prescribed for you, to the (what we called at the time) “healthcare reform”. My column ended in 2011, but much of that work still stands today, some as useful today as it was then.* As a result of those columns, I became a resource person for many locals who …

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Balance in All Things – We Create a World of Good

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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. From the killing of a promising young singer, to the mass murder of 49 young people, to a toddler’s death by alligator. I didn’t directly know anyone involved, but I can certainly speak to the pall that has been cast. The horror, followed by the myriad resulting emotions – sadness, dread, apprehension, and certainly the anger… Contrasted with those events, this week my inbox featured …

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Tough Questions, Informative Discussions, and Opportunities to Count Our Blessings

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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 medicine and healthcare you can imagine. It was an incredible learning experience. I would walk away from our recordings each week realizing that for every iota of information I knew or had just learned, there were millions of iotas I didn’t know, would never know, and might never even know to ask about. Gratifying, brain-stimulating, and sometimes overwhelming. Included in the conversations was a monthly feature that focused on …

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The Binder, the Meltdown, and Some Advocacy Karma, Too

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I beg your indulgence today as I relate a personal story. I don’t usually do this – rarely do I share this much personal information! But I promise you, if you stick with it – it will make sense by the end. As mentioned in last week’s post, my husband and I are getting ready to move. In less than three weeks, we’ll have begun settling in more than 1200 miles away. Since we will have no basement (!) and since it’s just really about d*mn time (!) – we are cleaning out, purging really – getting rid of the …

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Physicians Buying In – Bring on the Patient Advocates!

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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 Advocate! One was for medical insurance denials and the other was for patient navigation. It makes me really happy that physicians in my area are recognizing that we exist and can help their patients. Followed shortly thereafter by another advocate who observed, I know the clinicians I encounter learn to deeply appreciate my role-and, except for those who are dismissed, become more deeply engaged with my clients, …

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