HAP Blog

Skillful communication is essential in all health care interactions. Research has identified effective provider communication skills to be a key factor in ensuring better patient outcomes, reduced medical errors, greater compliance with treatment plans, and higher patient satisfaction scores.

Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFAC) provide a proven approach for health care systems and practices to partner with patients and families to provide guidance on how to improve the patient and family experience. As a result of the pandemic, hospital PFACs no longer were able to meet face-to-face.

Restrictions on visitations were particularly difficult for patient and family engagement (PFE). Hospitals, which had to focus on suppressing the spread of COVID-19 and optimizing the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), had to close doors to all but essential personnel and limited or even halted family and caregiver visitation.

Part one of three: through a three-part blog series, we explore the importance of considering the impact of and strategies to engage patient and family engagement through: visitation policies during and after COVID-19, diversity and health equity, patient and family advisory councils, and the health of our health care heroes.

For some time now, Medicare has been financially rewarding hospitals for good patient experiences as measured by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS).

When we think about the health care research process, we usually think about scientists and other research-related professionals. PCORI is changing that dynamic. PCORI was created in 2010, through the Affordable Care Act, “to improve the quality and relevance of evidence available to help patients, caregivers, clinicians, employers, insurers, and policy-makers to make informed health decisions”.