The BMC2 Patient Advisory Council Brings the Patient Voice to BMC2
Research shows that patient engagement can lead to reduced hospital admissions and can improve the effectiveness, relevance, efficiency, and quality of health services. Joining a patient advisory council can also help improve a patient's quality of life by helping them connect with other patients with similar experiences, building their community, and giving them an opportunity to participate in advocacy. By engaging patients in BMC2 quality improvement initiatives, we can improve the quality of PCI and vascular surgery care in the State of Michigan.
This initiative partners with patients to gain insight into the patient experience that may help guide and shape the work that we do as a consortium. Members of the council meet quarterly to advise on tools to help improve patient care and safety, how BMC2 should best communicate with patients, and are invited to attend BMC2 consortium-wide meetings and share their feedback. The goal is to engage patients early, before decisions are made, working toward patient-partnered care and mutual learning.
Our PCI Patient Advisory Council convened in 2021. We are now adding a vascular surgery council and recruiting individuals who have undergone vascular or carotid interventions.
Patient Advisory Council Activities
The PCI Patient Advisory Council has been a valuable partner in the following activities:
- Development of the MiCR Cardiac Rehab Best Practices Toolkit
- Creation of a risk-prediction tool to facilitate shared decision-making among patients, providers, and caregivers
- Contributing to quality discussions with PCI care teams from around the State during consortium-wide meetings
- Sharing the patient experience with BMC2 participants through consortium-wide meetings presentations and Patient Spotlight articles in the BMC2 newsletter
- Improving discharge instructions after PCI to be more streamlined and user-friendly
- Creating a document and video to help patients care for themselves at different milestones after a PCI procedures
We look forward to future partnerships with both our PCI and Vascular Patient Advisory Councils including:
- Planning for more mental health resources for patients
- Development of new resources to encourage patient participation in cardiac rehabilitation
- And more!
Meet Our Patient Advisory Council Members!
Thomas Arehart (profile coming soon)
Kevin Palczynski (profile coming soon)
Brian Tell (profile coming soon)
Former Patient Advisory Members
Interested in getting involved with BMC2?
We are currently building our team of Vascular Patient Advisory Council members and while we have an incredible team of committed and engaged PCI patient advisors, we are always looking for additional members to share their voices.
Patient advisors will meet others who have experienced similar health challenges, build their community of support, and potentially improve their quality of life by having an opportunity to create positive change.
There is no up-front commitment and patients will be compensated for their time. Activities may include:
- Quarterly teleconference or Zoom meetings of the Patient Advisory Council
- Attending BMC2 meetings as speakers/discussants
- Advising on resources to help improve care delivery
Patients and/or care providers are invited to complete this form to express their interest, or to nominate a patient.
We look forward to hearing from you!