patient and family engagement
Patient and family engagement (PFE) is linked to improved
quality, safety and delivery of care in Minnesota’s hospitals. Providers are
partnering with patients to integrate their goals, preferences and values into
health care plans.
Partnerships with patients and families can be seen at every
level of the health care system. Shift-change huddles and rounding are
increasingly being done at the bedside with patients and families. Hospitals
are inviting patients to share their experiences and perspectives on advisory
committees. Patient and family experiences are driving new, patient-centered
policies and process improvements. Hospital boards are including the patient
perspective in governance decisions.
By listening to patients and families, discovering what
matters most to them and implementing those ideas, Minnesota’s hospitals and
health systems are delivering better outcomes and experiences for their
patients.
MHA has a number of resources and programs designed to
support member hospitals in their goal of developing robust PFE strategies and
incorporating patient and family engagement in all areas of quality and safety.
Include AlwaysTM
In 2016, MHA awarded funding to the Minnesota
Alliance for Patient Safety (MAPS) to develop a stand-alone
resource-filled Include AlwaysTM website for patients,
families and health care providers across the continuum of care.
Include
AlwaysTM is a guiding principle that promotes partnering
with patients and families in their care for better outcomes. The core of this
principle is, “Include always. That's what we aim to do: Include patients and
families at every level throughout the health care system. Through
conversations, sharing ideas and inviting the patient in, the outcome will be
better health care for everyone. We're not launching a campaign that begins and
ends. Together, we're creating a cultural shift, a unified mindset where the
patient is truly one of us. It's a whole new health care approach. It takes a
whole lot of change. It takes courage. It takes all of us working together to
make our system the best it can be. We will learn more, engage often and include
always.”
MHA member hospitals are encouraged to use the
Include Always logo in their PFE programs.
Patient and Family Advisory
Councils
A Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) is a
group of patients serving as advisors to hospitals at the organizational level.
They are sometimes called Patient and Family Engagement Councils (PFEC) or
Patient Partner Advisory Councils (PPAC). MHA has a goal that each of its member
hospitals and health systems will partner with patients in an advisory group or
invite patients to join existing committees.
MHA has many resources available to help hospitals and health
systems start a PFAC, work more effectively with an existing PFAC or add
patients to hospital committees. These partnerships improve the health care
experience for patients, families, staff and hospitals.
PFE staff and patient partners are welcome to join monthly PFE webinars.
The webinars provide an online community designed for shared learning and
discussions around topics that are relevant to members and patients. Webinar topics
include patient safety, antibiotic stewardship, care transitions, resiliency,
health literacy, advance care planning and more.
