October 1, 2011 marked the one-year anniversary of state-mandated Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFACs) in all Massachusetts hospitals. The same state law that requires the establishment of these PFACs also requires each Massachusetts hospital to publish an annual report summarizing the work of the hospital's council. Many of the hospitals have posted on their websites either their annual PFAC reports, other information about their PFACs, or both.

The Consumer Health Quality Council (CHQC) from Health Care for All (HCFA) advocated for the enactment of the 2008 Massachusetts law, and is closely following its implementation. Information is available from the HCFA website on patient and family advisory councils in Massachusetts, the state law that requires the councils, and aggregate data gathered from the hospitals' PFAC plans, selected accomplishments of PFACs in Massachusetts hospitals, as well as links to learn more about structure and specific success stories of each individual hospital's PFAC.

To learn more about how this law came into being, check out the podcast conversation with Deborah Wachenhelm, Health Quality Manager at HCFA and Helen Osborne, host of Health Literacy Out Loud.

If you need guidance on how to start or sustain your PFAC, the Institute's webinar Creating Patient and Family Advisory Councils ~ Getting Started will next be offered February 7, 2012. This webinar is scheduled for 7-8:30 pm (EST), later in the day than many of our webinars, to accommodate participation by advisors and advisory councils. The Institute next offers an advanced session: Sustaining and Enhancing Your Patient and Family Advisory Council on Tuesday, March 6, 2012. More webinar information...

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC), an Institute Pinwheel Sponsor, and award winning hospital, (recipient of the 2008 Picker Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Patient-Centered Care and the 2006 American Hospital Association-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize®) offers resources on how to successfully implement patient- and family-centered rounds, based upon the experience at the hospital, and from teaching others about patient- and family-centered rounds. CCHMC describes patient- and family-centered rounds as "an active process that facilitates an open exchange of information and ideas among the patient, family, and all of the patient's health care providers."

The hospital's on-line resources include:

• Basics of Patient- and Family-Centered Rounds
• Implementation of Patient- and Family-Centered Rounds, including information about a pre-implementation workshop for physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, and patients and their families to discuss the benefits and obstacles of patient- and family-centered rounds. This workshop provides an opportunity for all parties to discuss benefits and obstacles, and to work to overcome the obstacles. At such a workshop, it becomes clear who is enthusiastic about making this change to patient- and family-centered rounds, and helps to identify additional educational content for those who express concerns.
  
• Feedback from physicians, nurses, and families on Patient- and Family-Centered Rounds
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Videos and Facilitator Guide
• Literature Review
• Additional Resources
  

Another Pinwheel Sponsor, Georgia Health Sciences University (GHSU) (formerly the Medical College of Georgia) produced a terrific resource, Navigating Patient- and Family-Centered Care Rounds: A Guide To Achieving Success (2010). This resource was produced as part of the Picker Institute's Improving Patient Rounds Project. A hard copy, spiral bound booklet featuring a tear-out card, the PFCC Rounds Checklist Card, is available for purchase on-line from GHSU. A low resolution copy is also available for download from GHSU and from CCHMC.  

The Institute also offers Applying Patient- and Family-Centered Concepts to Bedside Rounds, Applying Patient- and Family-Centered Concepts to Bedside Pediatric Rounds, and Applying Patient- and Family-Centered Concepts to Bedside Rounds in Newborn Intensive Care, each of which can be downloaded for free from the Institute's Free Downloads: Tools/Checklists.

The Institute extends a special thanks to UW Health for providing leadership support for bringing the Hospitals and Communities Moving Forward with Patient- and Family-Centered Care Intensive Training Seminar to Madison, Wisconsin. UW Health is a comprehensive health system that includes the academic health care entities of the University of Wisconsin-Madison: UW Medical Foundation, UW Hospital and Clinics, UW School of Medicine and Public Health, American Family Children's Hospital, and UW Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center. UW Health and its entities are the recipients of multiple national awards. Learn more…

Leadership Track

An invitational two-day Leadership Track will be offered Sunday, November 6 and Monday, November 7, 2011, for health care senior leaders, including CEOs, CNOs and other senior executives, administrators, board members, and medical directors attending the Madison seminar. Senior executives who are not attending the full seminar may register at a special rate for the Sunday and Monday leadership session. Learn more about the Leadership Track. Still have questions? If so, please contact the Institute.

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) announced the Pilot Projects Grant Program. PCORI is encouraging applications that collaboratively bring together experienced researchers and individuals or organizations that represent patients, caregivers, and the broader health care community. PCORI will commit up to $26 million to this program—$13 million per year for two years—in support of approximately 40 awards. Letters of Intent must be received by November 1, 2011 and applications must be received by December 1, 2011. Read more...

Learn more about PCORI—an independent, not-for-profit, private entity created as a part of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—in The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute—Promoting Better Information, Decisions, and Health published September 28, 2011 in the New England Journal of Medicine by Eugene Washington, MD, MSc, and Steven Lipstein, MHA, chair and vice chair, respectively, of the PCORI.

Institute for Healthcare Improvement Offers On-line Course in Patient- and Family-Centered Care

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Open School offers a range of on-line courses on topics such as patient- and family-centered care, quality improvement, patient safety, and leadership. IHI just announced a new course: Patient- and Family-Centered Care 101: Dignity and Respect. Continuing Education Credits are available. The Course is now live on the IHI website...check it out!

The Institute is thrilled to announce that the Samueli Institute will be partnering with the Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care for The 5th International Conference on Patient- and Family-Centered Care: Partnerships for Quality and Safety, to be held in Washington, DC, June 4-6, 2012. The Samueli Institute is a non-profit research organization supporting the scientific investigation of healing and its role in medicine and health care. Its focus includes "complementary, alternative and integrative medicine, optimal healing environments, relationship-centered care, the role of the mind and lifestyle in healing, health care policy research, and military and veterans health research."

Update On Abstracts and Registration

Thanks to all who submitted abstracts to the Institute for The 5th International Conference on Patient- and Family-Centered Care: Partnerships for Quality and Safety. The response was fantastic! The Institute's large panel of nationally and internationally respected experts in patient- and family-centered care—including patients and family leaders, health care administrators, managers, and clinicians—reviewed the hundreds of abstracts submitted, and have selected those abstracts that most clearly address the Conference topic criteria. The Institute is in the process of informing the abstract authors of the selection results. Notifications should be complete by October 31, 2011.

Conference registration will be open soon. Check the Institute website for updates.