Patient and Family Partnership Councils
Tacoma Family Medicine Patient and Family Advisory Council
In September 2009, Tacoma Family Medicine (TFM) became part of the Washington Patient Centered Medical Home Collaborative. As part of this patient-centered medical home (PCMH) initiative, TFM developed and implemented a patient and family advocacy council (PFAC) in February 2011.
The patient and family advocacy council is composed of 12 patients and/or family members. The group provides bi-directional communication and feedback, and helps TFM to create actionable steps to improve our patient-centered care and communication.
The council’s input has guided several initiatives, including strengthening the team care concept throughout the clinic, reviewing patient education brochures and materials, identifying access barriers and addressing how to reduce unnecessary ED visits.
As the only outpatient adult advisory council within MultiCare, the council has recently also been a source of information for other areas of MultiCare, including feedback from the council on the use of MyChart, and other system issues.
This year the council won the system-side award for Customer Service.