| AHRQ Innovations Exchange: Advancing the Practice of Patient- and Family-Centered Care in Hospitals

| AHRQ Innovations Exchange

Advancing the Practice of Patient- and Family-Centered Care in Hospitals Wednesday, December 17, 2014

The AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange is expanding efforts to scale up and spread innovations by sponsoring three Learning Communities that aim to improve the delivery of care. Participants in each Learning Community will work together over the next year in an interactive group setting, leveraging Innovations Exchange content to address a defined health care challenge by adopting elements of specific innovations or innovation “clusters.” The next few monthly issues of the Innovations Exchange will focus on each of these Learning Communities and their members’ experiences adopting and implementing selected innovations.

The Innovations Exchange has identified the delivery of patient- and family-centered care (PFCC) in hospitals as a high-priority topic area.

As defined by the Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care(link is external) (IPFCC), “patient- and family-centered care is an approach to the planning, delivery, and evaluation of health care that is grounded in mutually beneficial partnerships among health care providers, patients, and families. It redefines the relationships in health care by placing an emphasis on collaborating with people of all ages, at all levels of care, and in all health care settings. This collaboration assures that health care is responsive to an individual’s priorities, preferences, and values. In patient- and family-centered care, patients and families define their ‘family’ and determine how they will participate in care and decision-making.”

The PFCC Learning Community membership includes 11 hospitals in Florida. Its aim is to assist participating hospitals in implementing strategies from the featured innovations listed below to advance the practice of patient- and family-centered care within their own organizational culture and context.

Please visit the PFCC Learning Community page for more information about the Learning Community’s membership and aims.

Featured Innovations:

• Patient Advisers Participate in Hospital Councils, Committees, Staff Training, and Other Activities, Contributing to Improved Patient Satisfaction and Better Organizational Performance
• Patient- and Family-Centered Care Initiative Is Associated With High Patient Satisfaction and Positive Outcomes for Total Joint Replacement Patients
• Organization-Wide Adoption of Patient- and Family-Centered Care Leads to Consistently High Levels of Patient Satisfaction
• Patient Notepad Improves Communication With Physicians, Including Likelihood of Having Questions Answered
• Inclusive Policies, Communication Protocols and Ongoing Training Lead to Culturally Competent Care for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Patients
• Cardiac Unit Features Acuity-Adjustable Rooms and Other Patient-Centered Programs, Leading to Well-Above Average Outcomes and Patient Satisfaction

Featured QualityTools:

• Guide to Patient and Family Engagement in Hospital Quality and Safety
• Patient-Centered Care Improvement Guide
• Tips for Group Leaders and Facilitators on Involving Patients and Families on Committees and Task Forces
• Recommendations and Promising Practices for Designing a Patient and Family-Centered Health Care System