Finding a way to contain healthcare costs while improving the health of the US population are topics being discussed in the halls of Congress, in Board Rooms, in local communities and at national healthcare conferences across the country. This is because the...
In this week’s post, I wanted to continue with the theme of patient engagement and the important role patients and their families play in helping to make our healthcare system, patient-centered, safe, and cost-effective for all. As I have discussed in past issues of...
As the 2026 Midterms heat up, the topic of healthcare is front and center…and for good reason. The United States health care system is the most expensive system in the world but consistently under performs about other countries on most dimensions of...
As consumers, we all have a responsibility to take care of ourselves and manage our health in a proactive manner. Today, the concept of ‘managing our own health’ or ‘staying healthy’ often translates to eating healthy and regular exercise, while going to the doctor is...
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a conference entitled Building Health Policy Competencies in Graduate Nursing Programs. The program was presented by the Nursing and Health Policy Collaborative at the University of New Mexico with the Robert...
Several years ago, I participated in a webinar sponsored by Drexel School of Nursing and AON, Affinity Insurance Services, Inc. The program introduced the findings of the 2015 Nurse Claim Report. Closed claim reviews of professional liability and license...
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...
