Patient & Family Engagement
Empowering Patients, Improving Outcomes
Research shows that when patients and families are actively engaged in their health care, they experience better health outcomes and lower costs. Engagement strengthens communication, improves decision-making and fosters a more collaborative health care environment.
MHA recognizes that patient and family engagement is essential at every level of health care — from the bedside to the boardroom. By ensuring that patients and their families are informed, involved, and empowered, hospitals can enhance quality, safety, and overall care experiences.
Explore Quality Care & Patient Safety Resources
Looking for more tools and insights on patient and family engagement? MHA offers a variety of resources to help hospitals implement best practices and improve patient-centered care strategies.
What’s on this page
Quickly Navigate to the Information You’re Looking for
MHA’s Patient & Family Advisory Council
Priorities
Key Outcome Objectives
- We will ensure the council remains comprised of patients, family members, hospital staff and community leaders from across the state.
- We will serve to inform broader health care initiatives and policy from a patient and family perspective.
- We will aim to promote a statewide culture of health, integrating the patient and family perspective.
- We will provide a consumer voice that is critical to achieving the Triple Aim of better health, better care and lower costs.
- We will provide resources, support and expertise to meet these objectives.
Council Action Items
The council’s goal is to complete the following actions in the first three years of formation.
- Action 1: Identify metrics to evaluate statewide progress and to base supportive programming, resources and tools that raise awareness of the patient and family perspective.
- Action 2: Inform, at a state level, common themes and issues that detract from the health care experience; provide insight and feedback for interventions.
- Action 3: Collaborate with MHA on development of strategies and resources and support dissemination of these across the state
- Action 4: Serve as mentors and liaisons to members developing internal PFACs
- Action 5: Assist in understanding and deployment of health literacy and disparity reduction initiatives
Membership
To be considered for the MHA PFAC, fill out the membership application. If you have questions, contact Jessica Stultz at jstultz@mhanet.com.
Tracking Engagement: The Patient & Family Engagement Roadmap
To measure and support patient and family engagement efforts, MHA developed the Patient & Family Engagement Roadmap. This framework is designed to help hospitals:
- Assess and enhance engagement strategies
- Implement evidence-based best practices
- Track progress using 12 key engagement metrics
The roadmap aligns with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Partnership for Patients and is adapted from the Michigan Keystone Center’s Patient and Family Engagement resource. By following this structured approach, hospitals can ensure that engagement remains a priority and leads to meaningful improvements in patient care.
Compass Honor
Sponsored by the Statewide Patient and Family Advisory Council, MHA introduced an annual recognition, the Compass Honor, which recognizes a Missouri hospital for outstanding efforts in effectively partnering with their PFAC. Through public recognition, this honor will encourage and inspire hospitals to adopt practices, learn collectively and improve their PFACs.
The “compass” in Compass Honor signifies that with each direction we turn, we find partners in care.
- North symbolizes patients as our true north.
- South symbolizes caregivers and family.
- East symbolizes health care providers.
- West symbolizes support staff
