Managing Opioids Safely After Discharge: A Communication Tool for Patients and Care Partners

Prepared by IPRO HQIC

The goal of this tool is to help you communicate with your healthcare team about the opioids you will be taking after you are discharged from the hospital. You and your doctor have decided that you should continue taking opioids after you leave the hospital as part of your pain management plan. A pain management plan lists the ways in which you can control your pain. The plan may include prescribed opioids and over-the-counter medicines and when you should take them, as well as other things you can do (e.g., ice, massage). You and your clinician may need to adjust your plan as you recover.

Using the IPRO HQIC Planning Tool to Implement a PFAC in Your Hospital

Prepared by IPRO

The Self-Directed Learning Series for IPRO HQIC Hospitals is Now Available

  • Purpose
    • The goal of this learning series is to help a team of hospital employees and a patient and family advisors implement a functioning and sustainable patient and family advisory council or PFAC to meet PFE Best Practice.
    • You will learn the process and steps required to plan and initiate a PFAC.
    • The learning series includes an introductory video and five learning modules—one for each of the five steps of the process (illustrated below).

What is PFE Best Practice 5?
Hospitals are required to have at least one active Person and Family Engagement Committee, Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC), or other committee (e.g., Patient Safety) with full membership positions for patient or family representatives.

Background
The series has two major components (1) the PFAC Planning Tool which includes tools and activities that your hospital can use to create and sustain a Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC); (2) six pre-recorded learning modules of the Creating and Sustaining a Patient and Family Advisory Council to Improve Patient Safety and Enhance Quality Improvement.

  • How to Access
    • Go to IPRO Learn: Log in to the site to login or create a new account. More information about this process is available on the IPROLearn Account Creation Instructions.
    • Under “all courses” search for PFAC Learning Series.
    • Start with the introductory video and work your way through the five learning modules at your own pace!

View slides and the webinar recording from the Using the IPRO HQIC PFAC Learning Series to Implement a PFAC in Your Hospital to:

  • Learn about how to meet PFE Practice 5: PFAC or Representatives on Hospital Committee.
  • Learn about the new self-directed learning series on IPRO Learn, Creating and Sustaining a Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) to Improve Patient Safety and Enhance Quality Improvement.
  • Discuss how your hospital can use the learning series to develop or strengthen your PFAC.

Patient Stories Collection: Infectious Diseases

Compiled by IPRO HQIC

The following are websites where you can find patient stories related to infectious diseases:

1. Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). IDSA Home [Internet]. Patient Stories: The Faces of Antimicrobial Resistance; [cited 2023 Aug 8]. Available from: https://www.idsociety.org/public-health/patient-stories/patient-stories/.

2. Pew Charitable Trusts. The Pew Charitable Trusts | The Pew Charitable Trusts [Internet]. True Stories of Antibiotic Resistance; 2017 Nov 13 [cited 2023 Aug 8]. Available from: https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2017/11/true-stories-of-antibiotic-resistance-3-personal-perspectives.

3. National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID). NFID [Internet]. Real Stories, Real People – NFID; [cited 2023 Aug 8]. Available from: https://www.nfid.org/resources/real-stories-real-people/.

4. Sepsis Alliance [Internet]. Faces of Sepsis; [cited 2023 Aug 11]. Available from: https://www.sepsis.org/education/patients-family/faces-of-sepsis/.

5. Summa Health | Nonprofit Healthcare System in Akron, Ohio [Internet]. Infectious Disease Patient Stories | Summa Health; [cited 2023 Aug 11]. Available from: https://www.summahealth.org/specializedservices/infectious-diseases/patient-stories

6. Cleveland Clinic [Internet]. Infectious Disease Patient Stories | Cleveland Clinic; [cited 2023 Aug 11]. Available from: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/patient-stories/infectious-disease

7. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital [Internet]. Infectious Diseases Treatment Patient Stories; [cited 2023 Aug 11]. Available from: https://www.stjude.org/treatment/disease/infectious-diseases/patient-stories.html

8. Patient Stories and Patient Safety [Internet] CDC. Published September 13, 2023. [Cited September 18, 2023]. Available from: https://blogs.cdc.gov/safehealthcare/category/patients/

9. COVID-19 Patient Stories. [Internet] www.hopkinsmedicine.org. [Cited September 18, 2023]. Available from: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/coronavirus/patient-stories

10. HQIC Antibiotic Stewardship Workgroup: Clostridioides difficile Module. [Internet] IPRO NQIIC. [Cited September 18, 2023]. Available from: https://qi.ipro.org/2022/04/21/hqic-antibiotic-stewardship-workgroup-clostridioides-difficile-module/

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How to Rebuild, Reengage and Reenergize Your Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC)

Prepared by IPRO

In recent months, hospitals have begun to reengage their Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFACs) after the adverse impact that the COIVD-19 pandemic had on their healthcare systems, including the ability to have in-person PFAC meetings. As a result, some hospital PFACs are even better and stronger than ever before. Wills Memorial Hospital, a 25-bed critical access hospital (CAH) located in Washington, GA will present on the rebuilding and reenergizing of their PFAC, identifying and prioritizing several key areas of concern, and implementing projects based on greatest need.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

  • Explain the five Patient and Family Engagement metrics and other key measures of the Hospital Quality Improvement Contractor (HQIC) program.
  • Discuss the PFAC infrastructure and the importance of listening to the patient’s voice to improve patient care.
  • Illustrate how one hospital implemented training for the patient care team based on PFAC discussions and how the training has improved quality outcomes.

View Slides

Watch Video

IPRO HQIC PFE LAN: Applying PFE Best Practice 5 to Reducing Unplanned Readmissions, June 2023

Prepared by IPRO HQIC

The June PFE Learning and Action Event focuses on ways the implementation of patient and family advisory councils, or the inclusion of patient and family advisors on hospital committees, can be applied to your hospital’s efforts to reduce unplanned readmissions.

Communicating With Doctors and Nurses While in the Hospital: A Tool for Patients and Family Caregivers to Improve Patient Safety

Prepared by the IPRO HQIC Patient Safety Committee

Two-way communication between clinicians and patients plays a critical role in delivering high-quality care and ensuring a positive experience. Developed by the IPRO HQIC Patient Safety Committee*, the goal of this tool is to help patients and their care partners clearly communicate with their healthcare team. Patients can use this tool to plan for and document conversations with a doctor or nurse. The tool has three sections: (1) a set of communication tips for patients; (2) a guide to help patients plan for conversations with their healthcare team; and (3) suggestions for how patients can use their notes from conversations with their health care team. Clinicians can also use this tool to invite and encourage patients to communicate clearly with their healthcare team so that they are partners in their care.

*The IPRO HQIC Patient Safety Committee is composed of patients, family caregivers, and quality improvement specialists from states participating in the IPRO HQIC. 

IPRO HQIC PFE LAN: Reducing Harms Through the Five PFE Best Practices – March 16 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Prepared by AIR for IPRO HQIC

This learning event focuses on how the PFE Best Practices can be used to partner with patients and designated family caregivers to avoid harms during their hospital stay. Guest speakers share their personal experiences using PFE Best Practices to avoid harms. The event also introduces a new tool to help hospitals apply the five PFE best practices to reducing all-cause harms.

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Watch Presentation

Pre-recorded Learning Modules on Person and Family Engagement

Prepared by AIR for IPRO HQIC

What is Person and Family Engagement and Why Does it Matter?

This presentation outlines the benefits of PFE to improve care and shows how hospital staff can invite patients and families to become partners with them in direct care or in general hospital improvement. A list of resources is shared at the end of the presentation. A transcript is available to accompany the recorded presentation in the IPRO HQIC Resource Library.

Watch presentation

How Can Person and Family Engagement Practices Help Reduce All-Cause Harms in Hospitals?

This 14-minute presentation expands on engaging patients and families to be partners and focuses on using PFE as a quality improvement strategy that can assist in reducing all-cause harms (e.g., falls, pressure injuries, infections) in the hospital. The presentation introduces the
five PFE Best Practices required by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for hospitals enrolled in the Hospital Quality Improvement Contract (HQIC). It explains how these best practices can be implemented and applied to improve patient safety at the hospital. A list of
resources is shared at the end of the presentation. A transcript is available to accompany the recorded presentation in the IPRO HQIC Resource
Library.

Watch presentation

Identifying and Supporting Patient Representatives on a Quality Improvement or Patient Safety Committee

Prepared by AIR for IPRO HQIC

The September PFE Learning and Action Event explores how patient and family representatives can contribute to QI or patient safety initiatives. The one-hour session explains the roles and responsibilities of patient and family representatives and teaches hospitals how to recruit and prepare patients and family members to participate in meaningful ways on committees, including helpful onboarding resources. Patient and family representatives also share their experiences serving on committees and provide practical guidance on how to better support representatives.

Guide for Hospitals to Complete the Person and Family Engagement Assessment for the IPRO Hospital Quality Improvement Contract

Prepared by AIR for IPRO HQIC

Hospitals leaders and staff who are either providing information for, or completing the PFE Assessment, can use this guide to determine if they are implementing the five PFE Best Practices, and understand how best to choose survey responses about the five PFE Best Practices.

IPRO HQIC – June 2022 LAN: Identifying and Supporting a PFE Leader in Your Hospital

IPRO HQIC

The June PFE Learning and Action Event focuses on the roles, responsibilities, and benefits of a dedicated PFE leader in both small and large hospitals. This event explores how to create a PFE leader role using existing resources and tools, and ways in which PFE leaders can partner with hospital executives, patients, and families. PFE Leaders from IPRO HQIC hospitals share practical guidance and lessons they have learned.