The healthcare industry is experiencing frustration and worry among its stakeholders. Regulatory mandates for hospitals, physician practices, and other entities are causing challenges to the system, as these mandates are linked to reimbursement for all stakeholders....
Welcome to the 2nd year of Nurse Advocate. I hope you and you and your family had a Merry Christmas and will have a Happy and Healthy 2016. My husband and I did something different this year for the holidays and took a Panama Canal Cruise. We sailed on...
What a difference a year makes! It is hard to believe that last year at this time, I was fighting for my life after being diagnosed with a Central Nervous System Lymphoma. Today I am tumor free and slowly recuperating from complications related to the...
Being a patient in a hospital, skilled care facility, inpatient rehabilitation center or another inpatient setting is usually a challenge for the patient and his or her caregivers. People experience a loss of control when they enter an institution. When a person is...
Over this Thanksgiving Holiday I hope you have had the time to stop and reflect on all you are grateful for in your life. With the news of unrest around the world, we can sometimes forget to be grateful and appreciate the things that make our lives happy and...
November 24th marks an event one year ago that interrupted my life in a way I could not have imagined. On that sunny and clear day, I was driving my car, made a right turn, misjudged the curb, and blew out a tire. As I could not drive the car, I called my husband....
Today with technology in place, many of us feel that we are sometimes too connected. Yet, when we are sick, we can feel isolated. One of the things that sustained me over the course of my illness was receiving a card, an email, a phone call or a visit from family,...
Waiting is something we all experience on a daily basis. We wait in supermarkets, on the drive to and from work, at missed lights, in traffic jams, and so many other aspects of our daily lives. So why was waiting one of the most difficult challenges I endured as a...
Recently I shared information and resources you can use when faced with mounting medical bills. This week I would like to focus on processes that are in place today to ensure appropriate use of healthcare resources. In the past physicians were not questions as to...
In this week’s post, I would like to share my experience with paying the medical bills that accumulated during my illness. This is an important post, especially for consumers, as most have to pay a portion of their bills, and the amounts can be staggering. Paying...
I am excited to announce that Nurse Advocate was recently nominated for a Very Inspiring Blogger Award! This is an award given by bloggers to fellow bloggers who inspire them and who are motivated to make the blogosphere a beautiful place. The award asks us to honor...
Plans for the first National Case Management Week first started in 1998 as an effort to help move the Case Management industry forward. The Case Management Society of America’s Board of Directors agreed to a Case Management Week celebration during the week of...
I usually don’t watch the Miss America Pageant, but this year I tuned in as I had heard that one of the contestants was a nurse and I wanted to see how she did. As I watched the show nurse Kelley Johnson, from Colorado went against tradition and instead of singing,...
On September 11, 2001, four coordinated terrorist attacks against the United States forever changed the course of history. Today is the 17th anniversary of those attacks on our country by terrorists. Much has happened since this day to remind us that we live in a...
Most of us have been told since we were young that it is important to set goals. Goals provide the direction we need on the journey we call Life. Our goals may change as we age or be redirected in the face of challenges, but keeping your goals in mind can help you to...
On every airline flight, a flight attendant gives directions to those on board so they know what to do in an emergency. One line always stands out: “If you are traveling with a child or someone who requires assistance, secure your mask on first, and then assist...
Last week, I talked about the patient being a critical member of the healthcare team and why collaboration and communication between patients and team members is needed to ensure safe, cost-effective quality care. This week, I would like to share how...
