Healthcare Liaison Blog » healthcare advocate

Who Needs a Healthcare Advocate?

Joanna Smith — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:53:27 +0000

Such a new field, with many people offering various services. But who needs an advocate?
anyone worried about talking with their doctor;
anyone going into the hospital;
someone with a newly identified condition; people wondering what questions to ask of their doctor; anyone confused about their insurance; someone with questions about healthcare reform; if you’ve received a bill you don’t understand for a healthcare provider. All these people need advocates to explain, problem solve and follow you through the healthcare maze–no matter what part of it you’re in!

A Puzzle, A Mystery…and A Workshop

Joanna Smith — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:03:56 +0000

I’ve been ready Malcolm Gladwell’s What the Dog Saw and found his chapter on puzzles and mysteries very intriguing. He says we want life to be like a puzzle: if only we could find that one piece, everything would fit together and be clear. Instead, it’s a mystery with many pieces missing and needing to be arranged and re-arranged to find a solution.

And healthcare is a prime example.

If you cut your finger, that is a puzzle: we know, if it’s a minor cut, it needs…washing, perhaps an antibiotic ointment, maybe a band aid. If it’s major, it may require stitches. But if you are diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome or an irregularity of your heart beat, that is something different. There are no pat answers: you need to do a lot more investigation and thought, along with your healthcare team, to figure out the best treatment options. This is a time when healthcare advocates can be of so much help to people. It’s the mysteries we can help most with, by showing people how to problem-solve, interpret the information they’re receiving and make a decision.

These topics are some of what is included in the curriculum of Healthcare Liaison’s “Becoming a Private Healthcare Advocate” workshops. The next one will be at UC/Berkeley on February 27th and 28th. You can look at the course description at www.healthcareliaison.com/workshops.

Healthcare Advocacy Workshop in October

Joanna Smith — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:52:11 +0000

Becoming a Private Healthcare Advocate
11 Steps to a New Career in Healthcare

Healthcare Liaison is presenting a workshop for healthcare professionals who would like to be trained in private healthcare advocacy and for consumers who need health care guidance.

The Beautiful Clark Kerr Campus of UC Berkeley

Google Map for Clark Kerr Campus

October 17th & 18th, 2009
Clark Kerr Campus
Berkeley, CA

Workshop Daily Schedule
8:30 a.m. check in and coffee
9:00 a.m. workshop begins
noon-1 p.m. lunch (on your own)
4:30 p.m. workshop ends

For detailed brochure and to register on-line, please go to www.healthcareliaison.com/workshops