title: Patient and family involvement in contemporary health care.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this article was to provide a guide to health care providers on patient and family involvement in health care.
  
  
  METHODS
  This article evaluated the latest published studies for patient and family involvement and reexamined the objectives, the requirements for achieving these objectives, and the evidence of how to involve patients and families.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Critical components for patient safety include changing the organizational culture; including patients and families on teams; listening to patients and families; incorporating their input into leadership structures and systems; providing full detail about treatment, procedures, and medication adverse effects; involving them on patient safety and performance improvement committees; and disclosing medical errors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The conclusion of this article is that, for the future, patient and family involvement starts with educating patients and families and ends with listening to them and taking them seriously. If patient and family input is emphatically built into systems of performance improvement, and if patients and families are taken seriously and are respected for their valuable perspectives about how care can be improved, then organizations can improve at improving. Resources in health care are in short supply, yet the resources of patient and family help and time are almost limitless, are ready to be tapped, and can have a huge impact on improving the reliability and overall success for any health care organization.
authors: National Quality Forum, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Angood
authors: Jennifer
authors: J
authors: Dingman
authors: Mary E
authors: ME
authors: Foley
authors: Dan
authors: D
authors: Ford
authors: Becky
authors: B
authors: Martins
authors: Patti
authors: P
authors: O'Regan
authors: Arlene
authors: A
authors: Salamendra
authors: Sue
authors: S
authors: Sheridan
authors: Charles R
authors: CR
authors: Denham
mesh_terms: D005190:Family; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D010358:Patient Participation; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D014481:United States