“How Can We Talk about Patient-centered Care without Patients at the Table?” Lessons Learned from Patient Advisory Councils

Context and Objective: Patient advisory councils (PACs) are a strategy for primary care clinics to engage patients in practice improvement. However, there is scant research on how PACs function. This study aimed to understand how PACs are organized and identify common challenges and perceived benefits of high-functioning PACs.

Setting and Population: Key informants identified 8 primary care clinics in California with high-functioning PACs. Leaders from each of the 8 clinics nominated 1 clinic staff member and 1 PAC patient member to be interviewed.

Study Design: Semistructured, one-on-one interviews were conducted at each clinic site or by phone. Interviews were dual-coded using modified grounded theory. Common themes were identified that would be pertinent to the development of future best practices for running PACs.

Results: Common characteristics of high-functioning PACs included careful attention to participant recruitment, facilitation strategies guiding diverse personalities toward a common purpose, and assigning accountability for practice improvement projects. Interviewees identified a variety of positive outcomes that ranged from tangible improvements to the waiting area to a more patient-centered staff culture.

Conclusions: PACs show potential for promoting patient-centered practice improvements in primary care. Lessons learned from high-functioning PACs can inform a common set of strategies to assist practices in creating and sustaining effective advisory councils.