Implementation of a Novel Telehealth Patient Advisory Council

Patient engagement in healthcare delivery processes has been increasingly emphasized in recent years, which can be accomplished in part by Patient Advisory Councils (PACs). Although well-established in brick-and-mortar facilities, the use of PACs in pure telehealth settings is limited. Bicycle Health, a digital health organization that provides biopsychosocial treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) via telehealth, sought to increase patient engagement regarding care delivery and innovation, ultimately launching a telehealth Patient Advisory Council. Herein we discuss implementation challenges and iterative changes to address each challenge. Key learnings include the following: Patients with OUD are often subject to significant stigma, including by healthcare professionals. This is a key factor to consider when recruiting and engaging patients; trust building is key and can help to overcome both perceived and actual stigma.Inclusion of core staff persons who have lived experience with the respective health condition-in this case, OUD-is beneficial.Utilizing a formal framework, such as the Model for Improvement (utilized widely by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement), to guide improvement work is helpful for providing structure to feedback conversations, though this framework should be presented to patients in accessible language.

Success of Patient and Family Advisory Councils: The Importance of Metrics

Hospital Patient and Family Advisory Councils have been around for over 40 years. Yet, their adoption is waning with only slightly more than 50% of hospitals fielding Councils, which are composed of patient and family volunteers, who provide feedback to hospital staff. Demonstrating the value of Councils is critically important to their success and sustainability. Hospitals can ensure Council success by adopting these initiatives: (1) Highlight the importance of measuring program impacts to Council liaisons and members, (2) Educate members and staff about the three types of impacts defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research Quality, (3) Describe the steps to ensure that the value of the Council is well documented, and (4) Provide tools and training for the Council and staff to conduct robust measurements and analysis. When Councils measure their impact, their value to hospitals and leadership will increase.

Leveraging an Ambulatory Patient and Family Advisory Council to Improve Patient Experience Scores

Reports have shown that ambulatory primary care practices that include patients and families in their quality improvement efforts have many benefits including better relationships and interactions with patients. In this paper, we describe our experience of involving our patients, family, and staff who are members of or Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) in our quality improvement efforts related to patient experience. For a year, members of the PFAC suggested creative implementations to our office policies and workflow to improve satisfaction scores on the Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Health care Providers and Systems survey in key areas: information about delays, wait times in clinic, and convenience of appointments.

Evaluation of Patient Engagement in a Clinical Emergency Care Network: Findings From the BC Emergency Medicine Network

The British Columbia Emergency Medicine Network (EM Network) has collaborated with patient partners to utilize their experiential knowledge to inform planning and implementation. Patient partners participated in several EM Network committees and initiatives. This study evaluated how patient partners and other leaders in the EM Network perceived patient engagement efforts 1 year after launch. The Public and Patient Engagement Evaluation Tool V2.0 found that there was an appropriate level of patient engagement at this early stage, an opportunity to attract more patient partners as the EM Network grows, and a need to ensure adequate resources to support more activities.

The Role of Patient Advisory Councils in Health Research: Lessons From Two Provincial Councils in Canada

This article describes two patient advisory councils (PACs) in Canada in order to contribute to the limited evidence base on how they might facilitate patient engagement in health research. Specifically, members of PACs from Newfoundland and Labrador and Alberta describe their councils’ governance structure, primary functions, creation and composition, and recount specific research-related activities with which they have been involved. Key challenges of these councils and facilitators of their use are also presented. Finally, members from both councils recount lessons learned and offer suggestions for others interested in advisory councils as a mechanism for patient engagement in any health research project. Members believe patient engagement can result in better quality research and encourage decision makers and researchers to utilize patients’ valuable input to inform health system changes and drive priorities at a policy level.