Many providers today are empowering patients to participate in their care through shared decision making and supported self-management. But the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in Boston, Massachusetts, takes patient empowerment to a whole new level.
Patient representatives sit alongside executives and board members on key committees such as Patient Safety and Quality Improvement/Risk Management, assuring that the patient perspective is represented in executive-level initiatives and deliberations. Patient and Family Advisory Councils, composed of patients, family members, executive leaders, and staff, enable patients to partner with staff on Institute priorities and also create their own initiatives.
“The advisory councils, one for adults and one for pediatrics, set their own agendas and are supported by DFCI staff members,” says Saul Weingart, MD, PhD, DFCI Vice President for Patient Safety. Some initiatives launched by the groups include the creation of a legislative advocacy network, a newsletter by and for patients and families, and a patient perspective component in staff orientations.
Weingart says the councils are invaluable sounding boards. “They are not shy,” he says. “They speak up if they totally disagree. They are an important reality check.” And their presence in the management structure is no longer considered unusual. “I don’t think of this as token patient representation. I think of them as critical members of our committees, and valuable collaborators,” says Weingart.
06/01/2008
