Patient & Family Advisory Council (PFAC) Launch Kit

Welcome

This launch kit helps teams create a Patient & Family Advisory Council (PFAC) that moves beyond token input to meaningful co-design. Use these templates and step-by-step guidance to recruit diverse advisors, set clear expectations, run productive meetings and co-design workshops, and measure the PFAC's contribution to service improvements and patient experience.

Why a PFAC?

PFACs bring lived experience into service design and quality improvement. When activated well, they improve patient experience, reduce avoidable harms, reveal unseen barriers, and generate practical solutions staff might miss. A strong PFAC helps teams design services that are safer, more accessible, and better aligned with what patients and families actually need.

Quick-start checklist (First 90 days)

• Clarify scope, goals, and sponsor (executive sponsor + staff lead).
• Create a short charter describing role, membership, term length, meeting cadence, and decision influence.
• Decide compensation, accessibility supports, and confidentiality rules.
• Recruit 8–12 members representing diverse experiences and perspectives.
• Hold a 90-minute orientation onboarding session and the first public PFAC meeting.
• Plan a co-design workshop addressing one concrete service problem to build early momentum.
• Agree metrics to track PFAC impact and process quality.

Sample PFAC Charter (template)

Purpose: To provide patient and family perspectives that inform service design, safety, communication, and experience initiatives.

Scope: The PFAC will advise on care pathways, patient education, discharge planning, communication materials, and service flow issues. The PFAC may be asked for input on policies, environment, and patient-facing tools.

Membership: 8–12 patient and family advisors plus up to 4 staff liaisons. Advisors serve a 12-month term (option to renew once) with staggered start dates.

Meetings: Monthly 90-minute meetings with option for subgroups and ad-hoc co-design workshops. Staff will publish agendas and pre-reading at least 5 days before meetings.

Decision influence: The PFAC is an advisory body. Staff commit to documenting how PFAC input was used, including reasons when suggestions cannot be implemented.

Recruitment: Principles and Scripts

Recruit broadly and remove barriers: offer stipends, travel reimbursement, remote participation, childcare as appropriate, materials in plain language, and sign-language/translation when needed. Aim for demographic and clinical diversity relevant to your services.

Email invitation script (clinic staff)

Subject: Join our Patient & Family Advisory Council — help improve care

Dear [Name],

We are forming a Patient & Family Advisory Council to help improve [service/clinic/hospital]. Your experience as a patient/family member could help us design safer, easier, and more compassionate care. The PFAC meets monthly for 90 minutes and members receive [stipend/travel reimbursement]. Would you be willing to talk for 10 minutes about this opportunity?

— [Staff name, role, contact info]

Phone/Short text script

Hi [Name], I’m [name] from [service]. We’re inviting patients and family members to join a PFAC to help improve care. Meetings are monthly, and we support participation with [stipend, remote options]. Can I share more info or set a time to talk?

Poster/flyer blurb

Have experience with our services? Join our Patient & Family Advisory Council and help shape care. Monthly meetings, support provided. Contact: [email/phone].

Orientation checklist (first meeting)

• Welcome, introductions, and patient story that frames the PFAC's purpose.
• Review charter, roles, meeting norms, confidentiality, and code of conduct.
• Explain compensation, accessibility, and who the staff liaisons are.
• Set a near-term priority: choose one concrete project for the first co-design workshop.
• Collect contact, accessibility needs, and permissions (photo, quotes) using a short intake form.

Meeting agenda template (90 minutes)

1. Welcome & opening (5 minutes) — purpose and agenda
2. Check-in / brief patient story (10 minutes)
3. Updates & staff reports (10 minutes)
4. Main discussion or co-design activity (40 minutes)
5. Action review: what will staff take away? (15 minutes)
6. Feedback & closing (10 minutes) — how did the meeting go?

Distribute a one-page meeting brief afterwards including decisions, assigned owners, and expected timelines.

Co-design workshop plan (2–3 hours)

Use a single, concrete challenge (e.g., reduce discharge confusion). Invite relevant clinicians, operations staff, and 6–8 PFAC members. Assign a neutral facilitator and a note-taker.

1. Set context (15 minutes): patient story and data that show the problem.
2. Journey mapping (30 minutes): map a typical patient/family experience and highlight pain points.
3. Idea generation (30 minutes): small mixed groups produce solutions (low-tech to high-tech).
4. Rapid prototyping (30 minutes): create simple paper or process prototypes for top ideas.
5. Prioritization & action planning (30 minutes): pick 1–2 testable ideas, assign owners, and set measures.

Follow up with a short report showing how PFAC input shaped next steps.

Measures to track PFAC impact

Track both process-quality of engagement and downstream service impact. Examples:

• Process measures: attendance rate, demographic diversity index, meeting satisfaction score (survey), percent of agenda items with PFAC input documented, time from suggestion to feedback to PFAC.
• Outcome/process changes: number of patient-facing materials revised, average readmission rate for targeted cohort (if relevant), average patient-reported clarity of discharge instructions, reduction in complaint rates for a targeted process.
• Influence measures: percent of PFAC recommendations implemented, documented change logs that cite PFAC input, case studies of co-designed improvements.

Report these measures quarterly to the sponsor and publish a public one-page impact summary so PFAC members see how their input mattered.

Avoiding tokenism — practical rules

• Give the PFAC clear, actionable remits tied to projects with decision pathways.
• Commit to transparent feedback: when you don’t adopt advice, explain why and what alternatives were considered.
• Compensate caregivers for time and expertise; treat contributions as professional input.
• Rotate membership with overlap to preserve continuity but avoid burnout.
• Create subgroups for project-specific work with clear deliverables and timelines.

Accessibility, compensation & governance

Offer stipends or gift cards, cover travel parking, and provide remote participation options. Provide plain-language materials and allow extra time for questions. Address privacy and conflict-of-interest with a short consent form. Clarify whether PFAC members have access to identifiable data (usually no) and limit sensitive discussions appropriately.

Launch checklist (concrete tasks)

1. Secure executive sponsor and staff lead.
2. Draft and approve charter.
3. Decide budget for stipends, refreshments, translation, and materials.
4. Prepare recruitment materials and intake form.
5. Recruit members and schedule orientation.
6. Plan first co-design workshop with a clearly scoped problem.
7. Define 3–5 metrics to report on quarterly.

Facilitation tips

• Start meetings with a patient story to center the work.
• Use breakout groups to ensure all voices are heard.
• Summarize input visibly (whiteboard or shared doc) and confirm understanding before moving on.
• Assign clear owners and timelines for follow-up items.

Templates included below (use and adapt)

Short sample intake form fields

• Full name, preferred pronouns, contact info
• Relevant care experience (brief description)
• Availability & preferred meeting mode (in-person/remote)
• Accessibility needs
• Consent for stipend and photography/quote (yes/no)

Sample meeting minutes format (one-page)

• Date, attendees, regrets
• Agenda items and summary of input
• Decisions made
• Action items (owner, due date)
• How PFAC input will be used / next steps

Next steps

Adapt the charter and scripts to your local context and schedule a first orientation session. Start with one small, concrete project so members see early wins. Track both engagement quality and service outcomes, and publish a short impact update after the first 3 months.

For teams that want a packaged solution, consider acquiring an adaptable PFAC toolkit for your site that includes interactive intake forms, an action-tracking dashboard, and templated reports.

Contact

If you want help adapting these materials to your organization, reach out to your improvement or patient experience team. Small tests and transparency build trust quickly.