Mid-Year Resolution Check Up – What Have You Accomplished?

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At the mid-year point, past the July 4th holiday…. time to take stock. All those resolutions I made on January 1 – how have I done? How many have I checked off my list? True confession time: I have NOT lost all that weight I was planning to lose this year, nor have I quit smoking (well, seriously – I never started so I didn’t really have to quit anyway). I’m not saving any more money this year than last, and I haven’t read the Bible or War And Peace. Yikes. Time to get a move-on. OK – your turn. …

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What Private Patient Advocates Can Learn from Paula Deen*

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Hey y’all! If someone had asked you on the June 20, 2013 to describe Paula Deen, you might have described her as a bubbly, vivacious, popular Food Network star, author, well-merchandised cook or chef. Whether or not you liked her, and no matter what you thought of her approach to food, you at least had to admire her empire and popularity. Over the next week, her empire collapsed, seemingly because she fessed up to using the N-word during a lawsuit deposition.* The bigger they are, the harder they fall. It makes no difference whether or not Deen’s fall was fair …

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We Get By With a Little Help from Our Friends

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(Can’t you just hear Ringo in your ear? and yes, if you understand that reference, you’re dating yourself!) This week I was reminded several times about all the folks who are trying to develop their patient advocacy practices on their own, thinking they need to conquer it all by themselves. They don’t. They shouldn’t. And they run the risk of failing in business until they start thinking differently. Here’s why: Patient Advocacy is a time-intensive, hands-on undertaking. Each client needs a great deal of attention, usually immediately. Yet time isn’t something we can find more of; there are still only …

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Going to Jail, Spinning Plates, Peace of Mind – and You

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spinning plates

Suppose you are asleep one night, and the police break down your front door, yank you out of bed, arrest you, and take you off to jail…. What would you do? Who would you call? It doesn’t matter whether you are innocent or guilty – you have been blindsided by something unexpected, and now you have to deal with it by navigating a system you know nothing about…. I suspect you would call a lawyer to help you through it, right? A lawyer is the person who can at least provide the peace of mind that knowledge of the system …

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Sharing Healthcare’s Dirty Little Secrets

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I’ve just written a post at About.com about my recent mammogram experience where the breast center I’ve gone to for more than a decade managed to dissolve my trust of their service in the span of one phone call. Is it possible that they were being honest and I have no reason to lose my trust in them? Yes, of course. Maybe I’ve jumped the gun – or maybe not. But it doesn’t really matter. Because whether they deserve my distrust or not, I will never trust them again. No, not a chance. (Just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean they …

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Insanity Is Repeating the Same Behavior…

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… and expecting different results. It’s a favorite saying of mine, which I used to have posted just above my desk as a reminder that if I wanted to improve my work (or my life!) then I needed to take a fresh look at what I was doing and make adjustments. It’s a similar sentiment to another favorite saying of mine which is: If you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll always get what you’ve always got. Both these sayings came to mind this week as I responded to several advocates and almost-advocates about challenges they were having. …

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Pushing Back

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I truly dislike negativity. I suspect you do, too. As a kid, I would avoid arguments like the plague. I hated the upset that went along with it – that feeling of frustration, and churning in my stomach. Ugh. As I got older, I realized that negativity was always going to be a part of my life whether I liked it or not. Avoiding it was not an option, because avoiding it meant I wasn’t sticking up for myself or my loved ones or the tenets I believed in. Avoiding it meant I couldn’t right a wrong – or learn …

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