professional standards

If I Could File a Lawsuit, I Would

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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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Don’t Let Your Cause Be the Cause of Lost Business

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With the national presidential conventions behind us, and particularly if you live in a swing state, you know that the political campaigning, dressed as attacks and vitriol, is only revving up (as if it can get any worse?) This presidential election will be the first one that social media – like Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter – will be used by the mainstream to share opinions and information. Possibly for the first time, you’re going to learn what your friends and followers, and those you follow, think about which candidate – and why. You’re going to learn more about them than …

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The Health Advocate’s Olympics

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

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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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Setting New Standards for a New Profession – Your Chance to Help

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As announced to AdvoConnection’s members last week, we have been working on a prescribed process for advocates who find it necessary to terminate their work with a client – in effect, to “divorce” that client, professionally, legally, and with the least amount of difficulty for both parties. (Members will find access to that protocol in this coming week’s Monday Member Mail.) One step in the process is the recommendation about sharing the notes you’ve kept with the client you’re divorcing, and the question about whether or not you, as the professional patient advocate, should be keeping those notes after you …

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Do I Have to Be a Nurse to Be a Patient Advocate?

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The answer is simple. No. So why do I ask this question? Earlier this month, while attending the NAHAC Conference, the question was asked by a number of people. As if the qualification to be an effective patient advocate relied on a nursing education. Now please don’t get me wrong. I am a huge supporter of nurses and nursing, in its many important forms. I’ve written many times at About.com about nurses, nurse practitioners, and why I believe training as a nurse is far more patient-centered than other forms of medical training. Most of my commentary comes from my appreciation …

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