professionalism

Takers vs Givers: Far More Than Nuance for Advocates and Care Managers

1 Comment / 3 minutes of reading
caregiver or caretaker

Once when my mother was still alive (she passed in 2009) while she was in the late stages of Alzheimer’s, I visited my parents from 1200 miles away, seeing them for the first time in several months. Dad looked exhausted. “No wonder you’re so tired, Dad. Being Mom’s caretaker must be exhausting.” Dad, who had always been there for Mom – her incredibly supportive husband – paused for a moment, then replied, “Yes. It can be exhausting. You’re right. But […]

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Penny Wise, Pound Foolish, Lost Opportunity

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Penny Wise dumb decisions image

I have two stories to tell you today to illustrate the reason for this tip, both of which will, hopefully, turn on that “aha!” lightbulb that resides in our heads… Story #1: The first story was told to me by a neighbor who has a son, Brian, thirty-something, who, as she explained, lacks the common sense he was born with. (To me, the jury is out on whether he was, actually, born with it at all….) Brian has made foolish

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What’s Next? Managing Client Expectations

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doors

Years ago, I worked with the staff at a large primary care practice teaching them some basic customer service-type skills to help them better manage their patients and, frankly, improve their own job satisfaction, too. Nurses, receptionists, the referral and billing groups – clinical and non-clinical staff attended. We made lists of patient complaints, then worked together to develop some simple and no-cost approaches they could use to reduce complaints. I then asked them to begin implementing some of those

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The Folly of a Free Consultation

1 Comment / 4 minutes of reading
samples of juice

In the past few days I’ve had occasion to check out more than one dozen websites created by advocates and care managers. Of those sites, all but two offered a “Free Consultation.” Say it ain’t so! Why? Because the great majority of these free consultation offers simply pave the road to failure. I know… most advocates and care managers who are new to business think that a “free sample” will convince people to work with them, sign a contract, send

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HIPAA or PIPEDA at Your Fingertips

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potholes

For all its good intentions, HIPAA (known as PIPEDA in Canada) is a pain in the backside. Yes, granted, what it’s intended to do is keep personal health/ medical information safe and away from the eyeballs and datasets it shouldn’t be seen in – a good thing. But of course, as we all know, the road to heaven is paved with all those good intentions… and here we are 25 and 20 years after their implementation, and that heaven-bound road

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