Strategies for Patient and Family Advisory Councils in Hospitals

Including patients and families/caregivers in daily hospital rounds and bedside conversations can provide patients and their families with better insight into care and enable active participation, according to an article in Hospitals and Health Networks.

The article outlines how Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston began using Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PAFC) to examine patient preferences and focus on care delivery. There are an estimated 2,000 PAFCs in the United States today. The hospital is focused on using PAFCs to communicate with patients and families not only to improve food services and facilities but with the hope of improving delivery of care, according to Hospitals and Health Networks.

After employing a PAFC for nine years, Brigham and Women’s Hospital has compiled the following best practices for other hospitals looking to implement or improve a PAFC:

• Recruit 8–12 patient/family caregivers to train as patient/family advisers
• Establish specialized PFACs
• Embed PFACs in the organizational structure of the hospital