By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    improving patient experience
    6 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Within Hospitals
    December 1, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    What Are The Health Benefits Of Having A Degree?
    March 9, 2022
    custom software development is changing healthcare
    Digital Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance for Healthcare
    July 21, 2022
    Latest News
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    August 3, 2025
    Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
    July 20, 2025
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Health Care Inflation
    May 17, 2011
    Uninsured, and Lovin’ It
    June 10, 2011
    Health Care Reform in 2 Short Sentences
    July 21, 2011
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Patients Are Waiting to Partner: Invite Them to Participate
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Hospital Administration > Patients Are Waiting to Partner: Invite Them to Participate
Hospital Administration

Patients Are Waiting to Partner: Invite Them to Participate

Tracy Granzyk
Tracy Granzyk
Share
4 Min Read
patients in waiting room
SHARE

(This post first appeared on Educate the Young)

(This post first appeared on Educate the Young)

patients in waiting roomIn a recent Baltimore Sun piece, healthcare writer Marie McCarren wrote an op-ed providing “A prescription for fewer medical errors” — reflections from an emergency room visit with her husband that later turned into a stay on the intensive care unit. McCarren emphasized the need for healthcare providers to work at clearly communicating the ways in which family members of patients can help make care safer. She advises healthcare executives create meaningful patient handbooks that provide clear ways for patients to keep track of the complicated care system at what is most often one of the most stressful times in their life. She reminds us:

…Hospital executives, please listen. We are untrained and underslept, scared and stupider than we are in regular life. And we’re passive, because we want very much to believe that the doctors and nurses have the situation under control. Exploit our weaknesses. Give us a framework that will help us come up with useful questions and essentially order us to use it. I believe it would result in fewer mistakes and shorter hospital stays…

Almost in tandem, the Association for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) released the Guide to Patient and Family Engagement in Hospital Quality & Safety, outlining the value of inviting patients and families to engage in their care, and providing a “how to” for those still unsure. The guide covers the following topics:

More Read

patient engagement cartoon
Does the Doctor-Patient Relationship Need Marriage Counseling?
4 Tips for Building a Better Hospital Brand
Boosting Hospital Efficiency With The Right EMR Systems
12 Common IRO Questions Answered
EHRs And Malpractice Risk: A Serious Concern For Hospitals
  1. Information to Help Hospitals Get Started, which addresses: a) How to select, implement, and evaluate the Guide’s strategies. b) How patient and family engagement can benefit your hospital. c) How senior hospital leadership can promote patient and family engagement.
  2. Strategy 1: Working With Patients and Families as Advisors shows how hospitals can work with patients and family members as advisors at the organizational level.
  3. Strategy 2: Communicating to Improve Quality helps improve communication among patients, family members, clinicians, and hospital staff from the point of admission.
  4. Strategy 3: Nurse Bedside Shift Report supports the safe handoff of care between nurses by involving the patient and family in the change of shift report for nurses.
  5. Strategy 4: IDEAL Discharge Planning helps reduce preventable readmissions by engaging patients and family members in the transition from hospital to home.

*For more information about the Guide to Patient and Family Engagement in Hospital Quality and Safety, contact Margie Shofer at (301) 427-1259 or Marjorie.shofer@ahrq.hhs.gov.

Many health systems have begun to create patient education and admission materials that do in fact take some of these factors into account. If you, or a loved one, are about to become a patient, be sure to ask how you can best partner with your care team. If possible, request patient education materials well before your stay and provide feedback!

We know that engaged patients have the potential to not only help make care safer, but also improve outcomes. There are many intelligent people, with a fresh outlook and vested interest in these outcomes waiting on the sidelines. If you are a care provider, find a way to invite them in.  And please, share your results with us.

(Engaged patients / shutterstock)

TAGGED:engaged patientspatient engagement
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

technology in medical research
The Tools Helping Medical Researchers See the Full Picture
News Technology
August 3, 2025
5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
Health
July 31, 2025
holistic dental
Holistic Dentist Services Are Natural and Safe
Dental health Specialties
July 28, 2025
botox certification
Help Improve People’s Skin Health Via Botox Certification
Skin Specialties
July 22, 2025

You Might also Like

negative physician reviews
eHealthSocial Media

Physicians and Negative Online Reviews: Think Before You Sue

April 10, 2013

Will Your Local Hospital Exist in 10 years? Should it?

March 25, 2012
Hospital Administration

Was Granny Sent Home from the Hospital Too Soon?

December 14, 2015
Hospital Stays
BusinessHospital Administration

Avoid Hospital Stays by Taking Care of Yourself

August 23, 2021
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?