Consumer-led Workshop Convened by Leaders in Advancing Patient-Centered Healthcare

Chicago, July 2, 2003 - Partnership for Patient Safety (p4ps) and the Institute for Alternative Futures (IAF) announced today that a consumer-led workshop to advance patient safety will be held October 16-18, 2003 in Houston, TX. The workshop is being funded in part by a grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center will host the event.

Consumer-Led Workshop to Advance Patient Safety

The facilitated workshop will take a new look at consumers' roles in partnering to assure patient safety, building on the actual experiences of consumers who have tried to be partners in their own healthcare to make it safer. The primary objective of the workshop is to assist policymakers and healthcare organizations become more patient-centered by better understanding the roles consumers play or could play as partners in keeping healthcare safe in all settings.

Two consumers actively involved in advancing patient safety are working with IAF and p4ps to develop this workshop. Roxanne J. Goeltz is a Minnesota-based air traffic controller who became involved in patient safety after a system error contributed to the death of her brother, Mike. She has been an active partner in her own care as a cancer patient. Susan E. Sheridan is the President of Parents of Infants and Children with Kernicterus, a consumer group dedicated to raising awareness of and preventing damage to newborns from untreated jaundice. Susan's son, Cal, suffered brain damage as a result of untreated jaundice. Her husband, Pat, died last year as the result of the failure to communicate a diagnosis of spinal cancer. Both Susan and Roxanne speak and testify frequently on patient safety and the importance of partnering with the healthcare system.

"Our goal is to convene a group of consumers who have seen the system fail and who have seen it work well," said Martin J. Hatlie, JD, p4ps President. "We are particularly interested in consumers who are change agents and have found some way to engage the system in constructive conversation. We'll work with them intensively to capture their insight and build on their experience of contributing to the safety of healthcare. In so doing, we hope to fashion new tools for others."

Non-Consumer Stakeholders also Sought

Key stakeholders with an interest in patient safety and consumer responsibility also are being sought to interact with consumers in the October workshop. "We're delighted to welcome The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center as a partner and our host for this project," said Jonathan C. Peck, MA, IAF Vice President. "Their interest and support of this project exemplifies the M. D. Anderson community's commitment to respectful, honest communication. We look forward to being joined by people equally committed to patient-centered care in the nursing field; medicine; managed care; the pharmacy and pharmaceutical sector; law; government; accreditation; healthcare education; the employer community; philanthropy; medical device manufacturing and distributing; the press; healthcare quality researchers; and administrators, executive leaders and governing board members of acute, ambulatory and long-term care facilities."

Application Process

Consumers interested in applying can obtain an application by logging on to www.p4ps.org or www.altfutures.com, emailing mdvorak@p4ps.org or by calling the p4ps office at 312-274-9695.

The following criteria will be considered in selecting Consumer participants:

1. capacity to be a change agent and work to improve patient safety;
2. ability to articulate your story about your own experience with the healthcare system;
3. commitment to attend the entire conference;
4. whether you are a member of a priority population, as defined by AHRQ; and
5. willingness to be involved in interviewing other potential meeting participants and being interviewed by them.

Completed application forms must be mailed no later than August 8, 2003.

Non-consumer stakeholders interested in participating in or supporting the October Workshop should contact Mitch Dvorak at mdvorak@p4ps.org or call him at 312-274-9695 for more information.

About AHRQ

AHRQ is the nation's lead Federal agency for research on healthcare quality, costs, outcomes, and patient safety. Each year, AHRQ awards grants through the small grant program for conference support to public and private nonprofit organizations. This program is intended to complement and promote AHRQ's core research by providing a mechanism for Agency stakeholders and others to 1) develop health services research agendas and identify strategies and mechanisms for studying them; 2) discuss and develop consensus around health services research methodological and technical issues; 3) disseminate health services research information for formulating or evaluating health policy, managing health care programs, and using or purchasing health services; and 4) develop partnerships with stakeholder organizations and build their capacity to participate in research activities and use the results of health services research.

About M. D. Anderson

The mission of The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is to eliminate cancer in Texas, the nation and the world through outstanding integrated programs in patient care, research, education and prevention. The Houston, TX institution provides research-driven, comprehensive cancer care since 1941 when the Texas Legislature created M. D. Anderson as a component of The University of Texas System. M. D. Anderson is designated by the National Cancer Institute as a Comprehensive Cancer Center, one of the nation's first three, and has consistently ranked as one of the nation's top two cancer hospitals by U.S. News & World Report since 1990.

About Partnership for Patient Safety

The Partnership for Patient Safety (p4ps), based in Chicago, IL, is a patient-centered initiative to advance the reliability of healthcare systems worldwide. The mission of p4ps is to initiate focused partnerships and joint ventures with organizations and individuals that share its core values and objectives of achieving a healthcare system that is authentically patient-centered and systems-based.

About the Institute for Alternative Futures

The Institute for Alternative Futures (IAF) is a think tank located in Alexandria, Virginia. IAF was founded in 1977 by Dr. Clement Bezold, Dr. James Dator and Alvin Toffler. The mission of IAF is to help individuals and organizations more wisely choose and create the futures they prefer. IAF's services enable their clients to clearly understand the accelerating pace of change and focus their energies on clarifying their highest aspirations. IAF's for-profit consulting firm, Alternative Futures Associates (AFA), applies the same techniques to evaluate the potential futures facing corporations.

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Contact:
Mitchell L. Dvorak, MS
Associate Director
Partnership for Patient Safety
312-274-9695
mdvorak@p4ps.org