Research shows that when patients are engaged in their health care, it can lead to measurable improvements in safety and quality. To promote stronger engagement, AIR led a team to develop, implement, and evaluate a Guide to Patient and Family Engagement in Hospital Safety and Quality for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

The guide encourages safer, higher quality care by facilitating patient and family involvement in improving hospital experiences, care delivery, and outcomes. This tested, evidence-based guide helps hospitals work as partners with patients and families around four specific strategies. Each strategy contains an implementation handbook and tools for patients, families, and clinicians. The four strategies are:

• Working with patients and families as advisors: Helps hospitals work with patients and family members as organization-level advisors.
• Communicating to improve quality: Helps improve communication among patients, family, and hospital staff from the point of admission.
• Nurse bedside shift report: Helps support safe handoff during shift changes by involving the patient and family in the nurse change of shift report.
• IDEAL discharge planning: Helps hospitals better engage patients and families in the transition from hospital to home.