Alan Feren

M.D. FACS
My Personal Advocate
Alan

Alan Feren

M.D. FACS
My Personal Advocate
Advocate Location
Mill Valley , CA 94941
Specialty
Medical Guidance
Other Services
Wellness & Lifestyle
TeleAdvocacy Available
Offers FREE Initial Consultation
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*Greater National Advocates Terms of Use Apply
How I Can Help
When your health journey feels overwhelming, you don’t have to face it alone. As your personal patient advocate, I’m here to simplify the process, translate complex diagnoses and treatments into plain language, and ensure you’re asking the right questions.
Together, we’ll prepare for appointments, clarify your options, and determine when a second opinion is the best move. My aim? To help you feel confident, understood, and supported every step of the way—so you can focus on healing and living well with care that honors your needs and values.

I have over 50 years of experience: as a practicing physician and surgeon, medical treatment guidelines author, medical director, chief medical officer, and patient education consultant. I’ve also had multiple major procedures, so I’ve lived the realities of the patient experience.

I’ll help answer questions your care team didn’t address or didn’t answer clearly. I’ll help you ask the right questions and understand your options or any alternatives so you can make informed decisions. I can help ensure you get care that respects and meets your personal needs.

I advise on most adult conditions and procedures. However, I do not advise on children’s health (pediatrics), childbirth and women’s reproductive health, cancer care, mental health. I can assist on health insurance denials. for denial assistance, please contact me at https://medicalappealexperts.com.
Important Information About Me
  • I offer a FREE Initial Consultation
  • I offer TeleAdvocacy Service
  • I am insured
  • My geographical area of practice is No geographic boundaries or restrictions
Why I Became A Professional Health Care Advocate
IMy journey as a patient advocate began in medical school, when I found myself guiding my extended family through their own health challenges. Even from 2,000 miles away, I worked closely with my parents’ care teams—helping to solve problems, clarify treatment plans, and communicate effectively with their physicians. Through that process, I learned how to collaborate respectfully with clinicians and honed the skills that would define my work as an advocate.

Over time, my professional and personal paths intertwined. I faced my own serious medical challenges — emergency surgery, multiple failed spine surgeries, cancer, and most recently, a life-threatening heart rhythm disturbance requiring multiple emergency procedures. Each experience brought uncertainty, frustration, and long recoveries, but also deepened my empathy and understanding of what patients and families truly need.

Even during those difficult years, I continued helping others — offering medical guidance to family, friends, neighbors, and even people I’d never met before. Advocacy isn’t just something I do; it’s part of who I am. Helping people navigate the healthcare system and find clarity in chaos gives my life meaning and purpose.n medical school, I began guiding my extended family through their health journeys. With my parents, even though I lived 2,000 miles away, I played a key role in problem solving and treatment planning with their care teams. I learned how to work with their physicians in a thoughtful and respectful way; and honed my skills as an advocate. Then came my own medical challenges, all of which I have overcome and have remained clinical active and productivce: emergency surgery, multiple failed spine surgeries, cancer, and most recently, a near fatal encounter with a heart rhythm disturbance that required 2 emergent and a follow up procedures to manage. Living through all of these experiences, I faced doubts, questions, system obstacles, frustrations, and anxieties along with extended recoveries. Despite these personal challenges, I continued to provide medical guidance for my family, neighbors, friends, and friends of friends - people with whom I did not have a relationship or even knew. Helping people is in my DNA and gives my life meaning and fulfillment.
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Formal Education
Tufts University School of Medicine, M.D., 1970
University of Colorado Medical Center, Surgical residency, 1970-1972
United States Air Force, Kirkland AFB, Medical Corp, Major - 1972-1974
University of California Medical Center, Head and Neck Surgical Residency, 1974-1978
Faith Experience
  • Judaism
Additional Skills
Preparing for and recovering from all types of surgical procedures is a special area of interest, having gone through many procedures personally. These include heart and/or vascular procedures, spine surgery, total joint replacement surgery (hip and knee), prostate surgery (for both benign and malignant [cancer] diseases). In addition, I have very broad knowledge of many chronic illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic and lung diseases (COPD, Asthma), having written understandable and up-to-date patient education based on thorough peer-reviewed medical literature.
Professional Affiliations
Board Certification, Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, 1977
Elected Fellow of the American College of Surgery, 1981
Elected Fellow of the International College of Surgeons, 1983
Vice President, Clinical Care Quality, Good Samaritan Medical Foundation, 1993-1995
Senior Medical Director for Northern California, Blue Shield of California, 1995-2000
Chief Medical Officer, Sutter Health Partners, 2000-2003
HealthLoop, Senior Vice President, Clinical Content, 2014-2017
Conversa Health, Clinical Advisor and Content Specialist, 2017-2021
My Personal Advocate - Independent personalized advocacy - 2021 - present
Medical Appeal Experts (https://medicalappealexperts.com) - independent insurance denial assistance