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Patient Family Advisory Councils: What They Are, How They Help

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Recently, the formation and active participation of Patient Family Advisory Councils has been gaining ground at major medical centers. These councils are comprised of patients, family members of patients and employees from different departments in the medical center.

The idea of families of patients being considered as part of the medical team and not as “visitors” is more practical, more helpful and results in much better patient satisfaction and overall patient outcomes. Patients want their family members as part of their team and their support group. They trust them and rely on them. And no one knows the patient better than those close to them.

The Institute for Patient and Family-Centered Care  has great information about creating PFACs, including recruiting participants, developing bylaws and processes, and sustaining the council.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) also has some good information about why a PFAC can help further patient-centered care efforts in improving the delivery of care. The cahps website  explains,

“These councils help overcome a common problem that most organizations face when they begin to develop patient-and family-centered processes: They do not have the direct experience of illness or the health care system. Consequently, health care professionals often approach the design process from their own perspective, not the patients’ or families’. Improvement committees with the best of intentions may disagree about who understands the needs of the family and patient best. But family members and patients rarely understand professional turf boundaries. Their suggestions are usually inexpensive, straightforward, and easy to implement because they are not bound by the usual rules and sensitivities.”

Many major health centers now have PFACs. Some are new and some have been around for quite a while. Mayo Clinic formed a PFAC in 2004 and on the website, they describe some of the projects it has participated in, including improving wheelchair access, improving health literacy, evaluating health history forms and others.

Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA established a PFAC in 1998. According to the Dana Farber website, the council has spear-headed the following projects:

  • Helped design treatment, program, and common areas throughout the Institute, including the award-winning Women’s Cancers Program;
  • Participated in renovations to the radiation therapy unit at Brigham and Women’s Hospital;
  • Launched a “Patients as Educators” program to share experiences and feelings about oncology patient/provider relationships with small groups of nurses and doctors;
  • Advocated for increased psychosocial support services;
  • Addressed patient parking policies;
  • Worked with Patient Accounting to create more patient-friendly billing letters;
  • Participated in planning for the Complementary Therapies Program;
  • Launched Side by Side, a quarterly newsletter for patients;
  • Served as a national model for patient-family participation in clinical-care services.

MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX has always been involved in patient-centered care, but the PFAC was just created last year. Patients and family members actually helped in the creation of the council, writing bylaws, developing strategies and recruiting members.

I spoke with Kay Swint at MD Anderson who co-chairs their new PFAC with 2 patient/family member co-chairs. Swint was part of a group from MD Anderson that attended a seminar at the Institute for Patient and Family-Centered Care specifically designed for learning how to create a PFAC.

Swint spoke about patient-centered care in general, explaining that it is really about reducing anxiety and suffering and forming strong relationships with patients.

“When you do that, outcomes improve. It is not enough to write a treatment plan. You have to make sure the patient and family are fully engaged and on the same page. You have to understand what the patients really care about and what their values and needs really are.”

The MD Anderson PFAC has 27 patients and family members and has 10 MD Anderson employees. The Co-chairs report up to Barbara Summers, Chief Nursing Officer and Marshall Hicks, MD, Division Head of Diagnostic Imaging. Summers and Hicks are both Executive Sponsors of the Patient Experience Division at MD Anderson.

The MD Anderson PFAC is currently working on projects involving patient communication and education, including how to get information to patients when and where they need it. They are capturing patient/family stories that teach valuable lessons on what’s important for patients. Swint explained that these stories are a great way to convey to health care professionals patients’ values and needs.

The Council is also working on electronic health record implementation and what is important from the patient’s perspective.

When I asked Swint what the patient and family members that were on the council thought about the initiative, she said that they were extremely enthusiastic.

“Members really want to contribute. If the meeting is running late and we ask who can stay to give feedback, most will willingly stay. This is so important. Just 15 minutes with patients and family members really improves our decision-making; their feedback is so important.”

City of Hope cancer center in California initiated their Patient Family Advisory Council in 2008. In 2012, they also initiated El Concilio, a PFAC for Spanish speaking patients and caregivers. I spoke with PFAC Co-chair, Annette Mercurio, about the council and what it does.

Mercurio explained that the council Chair is always a patient or caregiver and is elected annually. The Co-chair is a hospital employee. The City of Hope PFAC is certainly patient driven, with 22 patient members and 3 hospital employee members.

Some projects that the City of Hope PFAC has been involved with:

  • Several PFAC members sat with City of Hope CMO, COO and other hospital leaders to discuss outpatient care redesign
  • PFAC members contributed to improving after-hours meal options for caregivers
  • PFAC members contributed to strengthening volunteer support for chemotherapy patients
  • PFAC members contributed to the designing of the patient portal
  • PFAC members served on Rapid Improvement Event teams that contributed to process improvements for patient registration, design of the ambulatory surgery center in Amini, specimen transport and chemotherapy patient education

Mercurio told me that the hospital really feels that the council’s help is crucial for tackling any project that involves patients, their families and caregivers. When asked about the patients and caregivers’ thoughts on the council, Mercurio explained,

“The members feel that using their insight will really benefit other patients and caregivers. That helping others by serving on the council is one of the most important ways to make a difference. I am humbled by the dedication of these individuals.”

The emphasis on patient-centered care, patient satisfaction and involvement of patients, their families and caregivers is actively making a difference in healthcare. We at the Patient Empowerment Network hope that it gains momentum as it moves forward. Join the Patient Empowerment movement!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8 Beliefs That Can Hold Caregivers Back (from reaching out for help)

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Family caregivers too often suffer from two very common things: overwhelm and isolation. Or, to it put another way, exhaustion and loneliness. So often, the nature of illness and trauma not only disrupts our normal ways of living, but also disrupts our connections with people who care about us. Caregivers who reach out for support gain the benefits of lessening their burdens and of feeling the warmth provided by people who care.

Too often, caregivers hold back from reaching out because of beliefs they have about doing so:

  •  Nobody else can do what I do for my loved one.
  •  My loved one won’t accept help from anyone but me.
  •  I’m too busy to even begin to think about doing anything more – even reaching out.
  •  The moment I start reaching out, our family will lose our privacy.
  •  I’m afraid of imposing on people.
  •  Reaching out shows weakness; doing it yourself shows strength.
  •  I’m afraid that nobody will come forward to help me.
  •  Since I’m able to handle things now, I’ll be able to continue to do so.

These, beliefs, while completely understandable and very common, are neither healthy for you as a caregiver or for your loved one. They get in the way of your resilience and your capacity to sustain yourself for however long your caregiving is required. Each week, I will be focusing in on one of these self-limiting beliefs and invite you to come along with me in exploring those that you are now willing to let go of and change into ones that help you not only survive, but thrive.

So let’s get started:

Nobody else can do what I do for my loved one

Think of the whole range of “things” you are currently doing. First think of the practical ones: dressing, managing and administering the meds, shopping, preparing, serving and cleaning up after meals, assisting with bathing and toileting, and so on. Now focus on the emotional and spiritual ones – showing love, being a trusted confidant, giving emotional support and comfort, etc.

Nobody else can do these things exactly how you’re doing them or would your loved one experience them in the same way if they were done by people other than you. No one else is so attuned to your loved one’s needs and preferences and, most likely, your loved one is most receptive to your way of doing these things. And, no one else would be as committed to your loved one’s comfort and be as vigilant as you are. This much is true.

But, the trap here is believing that, since no one else can do things the way you do, that no one else can do them or do them satisfactorily for you and your loved one.

Let’s take a look at some of those practical things that I listed above. Take one area for starters, e.g. grocery shopping. These days, it’s not like the days when our mothers used to look the butcher in the eye and tell him she wants a better cut of meat than the way he did it last week. Shopping simply means meal planning, list making and going out and getting the groceries – all very delegatable tasks. When you think about, I think you’ll agree that many if not most of the practical things can be done by others. Not necessarily with your intimate knowledge and way of doing things, but in their own ways. And, similarly, other people will bring their own and distinctly different ways of providing emotional and spiritual support as well.

Bottom line: Is this a belief you’ve been holding? If so, how does it serve you? How does it hinder you? How might you re-write that belief so that it serves you better? For example, “There are some things that other people can help with. I’m going to try this out with some simple things.” What practical step can you take to try out that new belief this very week? Let us know – by commenting on this blog. You’ll help yourself and other caregivers by doing so.