patients

You’re Not Charging Enough, and It’s Hurting Our Entire Profession

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 worth to find someone who can save you tens of thousands of dollars, or to prevent you from going bankrupt? What is it worth to find someone who can alleviate your fear, and provide peace of mind? …………….. I can tell you what it’s worth based on what I read in the press, in the APHA Forum, in my email and …

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The Real Cost of Selling One’s Soul

deal with the devil image

I heard from a friend that he recently sold his start-up business after years of building it to do just that. Wow! I was so impressed! “Take a break!” I replied. “I can only imagine how much work that was and how much money you must have made!” Yes, he told me. It was a LOT of work and he is exhausted. But, he confided, he really didn’t make much money in the sale. What? I was flabbergasted… Then I learned why. It seems that he and his partners, in order to raise the money they needed to make their …

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Turning Adversity into Proactive Survivorship

It’s been a tough week. From the initial blow, I’ve been a poster child for Kubler Ross’s five stages of grief. At this point I’m probably mid-way between depression and acceptance. If you are a subscriber to my patient empowerment newsletter (not our APHA Monday Mail, rather, my Every Patient’s Advocate one) – then you have already heard my news – I sent out a heads up last Thursday just before my About.com newsletter went out. (If you aren’t a subscriber, why not? 😉 Here’s a link. ) The news is that after almost 7 years and 2000+ articles, out …

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Hidden Agendas and Being Used

Years ago, in my salad days, I took a new marketing job after being interviewed by a gentleman who seemed as nice as anyone I had ever met in a workplace. It didn’t take me long to learn my new boss’s friendly smile, and the words that came out of his mouth, only masked a hidden agenda that he hoped naive-me would help him fulfill. The first clue that things were not as they seemed came when I was asked to sign off on some media invoices, in effect, giving Accounts Payable my approval to pay the agency that had …

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Veterans, Soldiers, the VA – What They Represent to Private Patient Advocates

dads grave marker

A Memorial Day Tribute My husband is retired from the Air Force* after serving for 20 years during the Vietnam era. My father served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. These two veterans, the men I have loved the most, and who represent millions of other American soldiers, men and women, deserve all the respect Americans can possibly muster not only Memorial Day, but every other day of the year as well. I raise this point because like you, I’ve been hearing and reading about the problems veterans have had getting the care they need from the …

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When Your Competition – Isn’t

(Updated February 2017) Recently we relaunched one of our APHA networking benefits, Special Interest Groups (SIGs). They provide members with the opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals to discuss any topic relevant to their work. For example, all members who live in Idaho might want to connect with each other. Or those who offer mental health advocacy services can share ideas. Others with interest in working strictly with seniors, or all our physician members, or even a group of Stanford grads (yes we have a handful!) SIGs help us connect with those who share our interests and experiences. One group, …

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Saving Your Clients from Jerks, Crooks and Malintents

(Apologies for the lists that no longer work in this post. In early summer 2014, About.com deleted almost 1000 posts and articles I had written. The points below are still valid, but I wanted you to know why the links may not produce what you expect.) I’m angry. And I’m appalled, too. And I think that you, as advocates, can be effective gatekeepers, guarding your client-patients from these kinds of providers. I’ve just finished blogging at About.com about two situations that have come to light recently. A third belongs here, too – from the general news. The story of an …

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