October is Patient-Centered Care Awareness Month

October 18, 2024

October is Patient-Centered-Care Awareness Month, and that provides health care practitioners, patients, families, and communities with an exciting opportunity to celebrate the great work Pennsylvania hospitals and health systems have made in adopting a culture that honors patient choice and encourages patient and family engagement.

Patient-centered care is more than hospitality. It is more than amenities and pleasant surrounds. Patient-centered care creates positive impressions and satisfying experiences, but, beyond that, it improves lives. Patient-centered care engages the patient on all levels: physically, intellectually, socially, mentally, and emotionally. It improves health outcomes and unites communities around health and wellness.

Research has shown that when patients are engaged as members of the health care team, they:

• Make more informed decisions
• Are more likely to adopt healthy behaviors
• Report more positive patient experiences
• Achieve better health outcomes

By supporting hospitals in the quest to provide high-quality, safe, fiscally responsible, and patient-centric care, HAP has become a recognized leader in the move toward enhanced patient engagement in health care. A HAP Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) provides a platform for Pennsylvania hospitals to network, learn, and problem solve together to enhance hospitals’ patient and family engagement (PFE) efforts.

Hospital representatives, patients, family members, and community leaders may join the HAP PFAC to include your voice in efforts to provide patient-centric care to Pennsylvania health care consumers. Contact HAP PFE lead, Janette Bisbee, for more information.