Patient Family Advisory Councils
Purpose
As the focus on value-based care continues, many primary care and specialty practices are developing Patient Family Advisory Councils (PFACs) as a means to partner with patients and family members to improve the quality of care, services provided, and the overall patient and family experience. A PFAC is an established council within a health care practice that consists of patients and family members who receive care at that practice along with members of the healthcare team. The council meets regularly to work on procedures, processes, and quality improvement strategies to achieve high-quality, coordinated patient- and family-centered care in the practice.
Overseeing these councils can be time consuming, particularly for large systems with multiple practice sites. HCGC is a catalyst, convener and coordinator of healthcare transformation and learning in Greater Columbus and, as such, is well-equipped to help practices implement, facilitate and engage PFACs in a safe and neutral space.
Objectives
• Ensure that patients are directly involved in the practice’s transformation team.
• Help practices understand the perspective of patients and caregivers on the organization and delivery of care.
• Use the recommendations to help them improve their care and ensure its continued patient-centeredness.
• Communicate to patients, families, and caregivers about the changes being implemented by the practice.
• Regularly assess the patient care experience and engage patients as partners through surveys and/or other mechanisms.
• Engage patients in shared decision making about risk and benefits of testing and treatments, where guidelines identify the decision as preference-sensitive.
Overview of Collaborative Partner Responsibilities
Responsibilities of practice sites:
• Attend HCGC PFAC Learning Group meetings
• Identify practice site point of contact
• Identify practice site interested families
• Provide or help secure space for PFAC meetings
• Plan and implement quality improvement based on PFAC feedback
Responsibilities of HCGC:
• Contact, schedule and confirm PFAC representatives for each practice site
• Convene and facilitate HCGC PFAC Learning Group meetings
• Produce and provide PFAC sign up/patient contact sheet
• Create PFAC participant rosters for each practice site (and larger compiled PFAC roster of participants for each system)
• Schedule each site (or group of sites) PFAC meeting
• Staff and facilitate each PFAC meeting
• Produce agendas for each PFAC meeting
• Collect and compile PFAC feedback shared at each meeting and ongoing
• Communicate directly with PFAC, copying practice site representative, for ongoing follow-up and PFAC engagement
This approach, especially for systems with multiple sites, will allow for system-wide aggregation of patient/family feedback and therefore potential practice change in a more meaningful, measurable way.
As the focus on value-based care continues, many primary care and specialty practices are developing Patient Family Advisory Councils (PFACs) as a means to partner with patients and family members to improve the quality of care, services provided, and the overall patient and family experience. A PFAC is an established council within a health care practice that consists of patients and family members who receive care at that practice along with members of the healthcare team. The council meets regularly to work on procedures, processes, and quality improvement strategies to achieve high-quality, coordinated patient- and family-centered care in the practice.
Overseeing these councils can be time consuming, particularly for large systems with multiple practice sites. HCGC is a catalyst, convener and coordinator of healthcare transformation and learning in Greater Columbus and, as such, is well-equipped to help practices implement, facilitate and engage PFACs in a safe and neutral space.
Objectives
• Ensure that patients are directly involved in the practice’s transformation team.
• Help practices understand the perspective of patients and caregivers on the organization and delivery of care.
• Use the recommendations to help them improve their care and ensure its continued patient-centeredness.
• Communicate to patients, families, and caregivers about the changes being implemented by the practice.
• Regularly assess the patient care experience and engage patients as partners through surveys and/or other mechanisms.
• Engage patients in shared decision making about risk and benefits of testing and treatments, where guidelines identify the decision as preference-sensitive.
Overview of Collaborative Partner Responsibilities
Responsibilities of practice sites:
• Attend HCGC PFAC Learning Group meetings
• Identify practice site point of contact
• Identify practice site interested families
• Provide or help secure space for PFAC meetings
• Plan and implement quality improvement based on PFAC feedback
Responsibilities of HCGC:
• Contact, schedule and confirm PFAC representatives for each practice site
• Convene and facilitate HCGC PFAC Learning Group meetings
• Produce and provide PFAC sign up/patient contact sheet
• Create PFAC participant rosters for each practice site (and larger compiled PFAC roster of participants for each system)
• Schedule each site (or group of sites) PFAC meeting
• Staff and facilitate each PFAC meeting
• Produce agendas for each PFAC meeting
• Collect and compile PFAC feedback shared at each meeting and ongoing
• Communicate directly with PFAC, copying practice site representative, for ongoing follow-up and PFAC engagement
This approach, especially for systems with multiple sites, will allow for system-wide aggregation of patient/family feedback and therefore potential practice change in a more meaningful, measurable way.
