Guide Looks to Engage Patients and Families in Healthcare Quality

A team of healthcare organizations is working together to engage the patient and family in the healthcare experience.

As part of the 2009 Accelerating Change and Transformation in Organizations and Networks (ACTION) research grants awarded by the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ), the following groups will be collaborating to create a Guide to Patient and Family Engagement in Health Care Quality and Safety in the Hospital Setting:

• The American Institutes for Research, the team leader


• Carilion Health Clinic


• Consumers Advancing Patient Safety


• The Institute for Family-Centered Care


• The Joint Commission


• The Health Research and Education Trust


• Planetree


• The Maryland Patient Safety Center


• Aurora Health Care

The research grant is funding the development of a patient and family hospital engagement Guide.

"The project to develop the Guide began in September 2009 and will continue over the next three years as we work to develop and test an evidence-based product that meets the needs of end users," says Jeff Brady, MD, MPH, patient safety portfolio lead in the center for quality improvement and patient safety at AHRQ. The Guide will be publicly available at the conclusion of this project.

This Guide will include training tools and materials for patients and families, as well as hospital clinicians, leaders, and anyone working at a hospital who might be responsible for implementing the guide. The materials included in the guide will address ways that patients and families can be involved in improving healthcare quality, partnering with hospital staff members in their own care, and how changing the culture of an organization is necessary to improve patient-family engagement in care.