Delmar Family Medicine has started its first ever Patient and Family Advisory Council. This is a small group of patients, or family of patients and clinic staff that come together four times a year to discuss ways in which Delmar Family Medicine could improve from the patient perspective.

Our main goal here at DFM is to provide our patients with quality long term care, this can include prenatal care all the way to end of life care. This council will meet to discuss all of the ways that DFM can improve in these areas and everywhere in between. I you have any suggestions for ways to improve click here and take our patient survey. You can take it online or print it out and hand it to the front desk the next time you are in the office. 

What is a Patient and Family Advisory Council?

A patient advisory council is a group consisting of patients and clinic staff working together to make the patient experience the best it can be. The clinic staff will be listening to the suggestions made by the patients and family of patients and do their best to improve in the areas that the patients are concerned with. The PFAC will meet on a regular basis to discuss improvements in care, quality and patient experience.

What do we hope to get from the council?

The Delmar Family Medicine team hopes to build a stronger, more trusting relationship with its patients, by listening and making changes based on patient suggestions. We hope to improve the perceived quality of care each patient receive. A patient and family advisory council will help DFM create a culture of patient-centered are which will allow us to improve patient satisfaction and quality of care delivered to patients.

Why is it important?

It is important for the staff at Delmar Family Medicine to hear from their patients in a setting outside of the exam room. The patients are experts on how our care is perceived, there may be areas of care and delivery of care that we focus too much or too little on, we can find these problems much faster when they are brought to our attention by our patients. It is important for the patients and the DFM staff to have an open exchange of communication at every meeting. Those on the council will be an advocate and a voice for patients who see ways in which Delmar Family Medicine can improve. The voices of patients and their families need to be heard and the council is an organizes cooperative format for that to happen.

Who does it benefit?

A patient advisory council benefits both the staff at the clinic and the patients. The staff will be able to be confident that they are giving their patients the highest quality care possible and delivering it in a way that the patient is comfortable with. The Delmar Family Medicine patients will feel as though they have more of a voice when it comes to their care, and can help change the perceived quality of care for the rest of DFM’s patients.