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There is universal consensus that patients need to be engaged with their care. In 2012, UNC Family Medicine created a Patient Advisory Council to put this idea into practice. A recently published case study demonstrates the extensive Patient Advisory Council engagement with the operations of a patient-centered medical home.

There is consensus that patients need to be engaged with their care, but how to do this in a primary care setting remains unclear. This case study, written by Warren Newton, MD, Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at UNC; Mark Gwynne, DO, Director of the UNC Family Medicine Center and co-chair of the PAC; Donna Parker, MPH, Director of Communications and Marketing and coordinator of the PAC; and Val Atkinson, MPA, patient and co-chair of the PAC, demonstrates Patient Advisory Council engagement with the operations of a large, patient-centered medical home.

The passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) is driving dramatic change in the organization of health care. While the end state is not clear, almost all observers agree that primary care should be a foundation for the new health care system. If this is the case, how do we bring a robust patient voice into the primary care setting?

Click the link below for a brief description of our practice’s experience with developing a Patient Advisory Council (PAC) and incorporating it into the governance of our practice. The intent is to provide a case study from the perspective of the leadership of the practice (W.P.N., D.L.P., and M.G.) and from that of our patients (H.A.).

– See more at: http://www.ncmedicaljournal.com/content/76/3/190.full