*  The amount of training your Advocate has.  As with many services, people trained or certified in that area will cost more.

What can you do to control your costs?

*  Make sure you have a written agreement with your Advocate for the services you want.  Your goals should be clearly spelled out by the end of the first meeting so you both know what you’re trying to accomplish.

*  Divide up the tasks.  Frequently, once we have the goals identified, my clients say “I can do these pieces and I want you to do these other ones.  It’s a cost saver for them and helps them be more empowered in their on-going medical care.

*  Keep communications clear.  Your Advocate should be giving you–via phone or email–updates on what they are doing for you.  If you’re in the hospital, they may be communicating with your family and friends.  I frequently set up email groups with my clients so that everyone they want “in the loop” receives the same information from me at the same time.

*  Trust your intuition.  If it seems like it’s difficult to work with your Advocate–for whatever reason–talk with them to try to resolve it.  If it still feels like it’s not a “good fit” with that particular Advocate, find another one.  The idea is to assist you in your goals, and you need to be working with someone that can help you do just that!

Healthcare Liaison is expanding the 2010 locations for for its popular two-day workshop “Becoming a Healthcare Advocate:  11 Steps to a New Career in Healthcare”.  These workshops are open to consumers, professional healthcare advocates, those teaching in the field and policy and legislative interests.  We have new locations!

SEATTLE, WA–January 30 and 31st

BERKELEY, CA–February 27th and 28th

TUCSON, AZ–March 20th and 21st

BOSTON, MA–May 1st and 2nd

The links will take you to the brochure describing the workshop and you can complete payment on-line with a credit card or PayPal.  There are still spaces in the Seattle workshop and registrants are eligible for a referral bonus when they “bring a friend”.

In other major news, we have a professional organization!  I founded the organization, the National Association of Healthcare Advocacy Consultants,  in July 2009 and am now the President of NAHAC for 209-2010.  You can read about the Association and join at NAHAC

In November 2009 the newly-formed National Association of Healthcare Advocacy Consultants held its First Annual Conference!  NAHAC  currently has 62 members and membership is open to everyone:  professional advocates, consumers, academicians and policy and legislative participants. Members who were not able to attend the conference can listen to the podcast on the web site and hear workshops on case studies, HIPAA for advocates, insurance-made-understandable and more.  to join:  NAHAC.

We are holding our second annual Conference in Washington DC in November 2010.  Join NAHAC to get the details as soon as they’re released!

Are you trying to navigate the Medicare maze for yourself or a
loved one? Become an empowered Medicare consumer by
attending an expert workshop led by one of the nation’s leading
professional advocates.

At the workshop you will:
Learn about eligibility, cost, and coverage options for Medicare
Parts A, B, C (Advantage), D (Prescription Drug) and
Supplemental (Medigap)
Discover how to find and use trustworthy resources in your
community and online
Master tips and tricks for making informed plan choices that are
right for you
When:  Saturday, September 12, 2009
8:30 am to 12:00 pm
Where: Portland State University
(Downtown Portland Campus)
Cost: ! $35
The workshop will be led by Joanna Smith, LCSW, MPH. Joanna is a
nationally recognized expert in Medicare and other patient advocacy
issues. She is the founder and CEO of Healthcare Liaison in California,
and has more than 30 years of experience helping patients and families
navigate the healthcare system.
The workshop is sponsored by Health Advocacy Solutions, a Portland-based nonprofit
dedicated to helping patients, families, and communities get the best care possible.

To register,  visit

http://www.hasolutions.org/upcoming or call 503-828-1078.
Space is limited, so please register soon!

Consumers continue to be overwhelmed by healthcare.  Decisions about treatments, choosing and understanding specialists, coordinating care, addressing billing and insurance issues–all of these areas can be overwhelming to someone in the middle of a complex medical situation.  While many people are alert to the difficulties that seniors encounter in navigating the healthcare system, people who have very ill babies and children, young adults with new diagnoses of diseases or people of all ages facing surgery or treatment decisions need people to help them navigate through.

But who is doing healthcare advocacy and what are their skills?  What are the “best practices” for the profession?  how can consumers find someone near where they live?  These are the questions a National Association can begin addressing.

Who can join?  Everyone with an interest in healthcare advocacy:  medical professionals, consumers, academicians, policy makers.  But the data base of members is open to the public, who can search without charge for an advocate in their geographic area and read about their particular qualifications to help them decide if the advocate is a good match for what they need.  There is only one credentialing program right now in the U.S, and that is run by Healthcare Liaison and is for medical professionals.  Will there be one for consumers?  What are the skills a heatlhcare advocate needs to have?  What about licensing?  Join the Association and join the dialogue!

Membership opens on August 1st

The web site (www.nahac.com) will have a geographic listing of all the members, a searchable database of Healthcare Advocates all over the country and brief biographies of each member so people searching for an advocate can choose one that has the skills they need. And also, Healthcare Advocates will be able to locate each other for peer support and referrals. Come join the Association! The membership page will be open on August 1, 2009, and the first Annual conference will be in Berkeley, CA November 14th and 15th, 2009. Look for details on the conference on www.nahac.com on September 1, 2009. It’s an exciting step in this evolving profession!