Patient Advisors are patients and their family members or caregivers willing to contribute their own patient/caregiver experience to the conversation. Their main goal is to improve the health care experience for themselves and others.
A patient and family advisor is someone who:
Wants to help improve healthcare for current and future patients
Gives feedback based on his or her own experiences as a patient or family member
Helps us plan changes to continually improve how we provide care to our patients
Volunteers his or her time typically (1-4 hours per month)
What have Patient Advisors accomplished so far?
Since the launch of PERC, Henry Ford has implemented numerous changes with the help of Patient/Family Advisors.
Some of these accomplishments include:
Patient Advisors redesigned and reformatted the Inpatient After Visit Summary to be more patient-friendly and more useful for caregivers.
Ear Nose and Throat Clinic Advisory Council have revamped the New Patient Folder to be more useful for newly diagnosed patients. They even added a section for Words of Encouragement!
Patient Advisor input helped HFHS determine their new customer promise of “All For You.”
Patient Advisor input helped changes to be implemented to confusing billing statements.
Patient Advisor input helped with the renovation of the Emergency Room at Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital (Discussed blue prints, patient flow, and special rooms for grieving families).
To view a list of all Patient Advisor accomplishments, please view our PERC 2018 Annual Report.
In what way can I get involved as a Patient Advisor?
In order to make Patient-Centered Research more meaningful to patients and their families, Henry Ford Health System focuses on building and maintaining relationships within the community, starting with each patient. As such, we have created a variety of Patient Advisor roles, and we invite patients, their family members, caregivers, and the community the chance to offer input and feedback on various aspects of the patient experience.
As a Patient Advisor, you can participate in improving patient care policies, processes, communication materials, quality improvement activities, and safety efforts. And as a result, your feedback will have a direct impact on other’s patient experiences, and ultimately healthcare.
Based on your area of interest and/or expertise, we have the following opportunities and the related expectations:
Serve as a Patient Advisor representative on a hospital council or committee. You will be considered a valued member of the group and will attend regular meetings focused on designing or improving a new or current program, service, policy or process.
Review materials and/or provide feedback outside of meeting times
Work closely with different clinical and non-clinical staff
Communicate ideas in a clear and succinct manner
Regular attendance and active participation is expected
Required to sign confidentiality and photo release form
Share feedback by participating in short online surveys. Topics may include: patient care experiences, new services and improvement ideas, and better ways to partner with patients.
Time commitment about 1-2 survey's a month
Able to respond quickly and meet deadlines as requested
Have access to email and internet to complete online surveys.
Join Henry Ford Insights, a community of people who share feedback by participating in short online surveys.
Participate as a focus group participant and provide feedback on your own personal healthcare experience, as well as any topics that are brought to discuss
Time investment is typically 1.5 to 2 hours per group meeting
One time meeting session, not on-going
Required to sign confidentiality and photo release form
