Focus Group Participants, Care Plan Development Tool

Having a care plan that reflects the needs of patients is an important part of patient and family-centred care! Island Health is seeking your feedback as they strive to improve care planning across the region.

Open to: Patient partners in the Greater Victoria region

Lead Organization or Department

Community Health and Care, Island Health

Aim

Care plans set out each patient’s goals and needs and are an important communication and coordination tool for the health care team, as well as patients and their families. Island Health is working to create a new care planning tool that will improve how information is shared and support patients to reach their goals. As a focus group participant, you will be invited to share your perspective on the type of information required by patients and their families to effectively manage their care, as well as the information that care teams require to provide care in a patient-centred manner.

Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of consult on the spectrum of engagement (www.iap2.org). The promise to you is that the health care partner will listen to and acknowledge your ideas and concerns, and provide feedback on how your input affected the decision.  

Eligibility

• Comfortable sharing experiences and feedback in a group;
• Interest in improving teamwork and communication in health care services;
• Experience accessing care from multiple health care providers, programs, or services would be an asset, but is not required. Your experience may be as a patient, family member, or informal caregiver.
• Previously attended a PVN orientation session and completed the Volunteer Agreement. If you have not attended an orientation session but you are interested in this opportunity, please contact Leah Smith directly to see if accommodations may be possible.

Logistics

• Vacancies: 6 to 8
• Date & Time: Thursday, June 1, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
• Location: Gorge Road Hospital, Victoria
• Commitment: One-time event with the option to provide additional feedback on the tool at a later date

Reimbursement

Pre-approved out-of-pocket expenses such as mileage, parking and public transit will be reimbursed.

Background

The Community Health and Care portfolio has been working to support the integration of community and primary care, with a focus on patients with complex chronic conditions and/or mental health and substance use. Part of this work is focused on the development of a more standardized care planning process that is patient and family-centred, inclusive of all members of the care team including the patient and, accessible to the health care providers. What is a care plan? A care plan is put together based on each patient's unique diagnoses and sets out a plan of care that is organized around the individual's specific needs and preferences. Why is a care plan important? Effective care plans can help patients, families, general practitioners, specialists, nurses, social workers, physiotherapists, home support workers and others to work together and support the patient to meet their goals. The Care plan becomes the guide for all health care providers and ensures that they have the information they need in order to provide the right care to the patient based on their needs and preferences. This can also help to improve communication and coordination of care between different programs and services that the patient might routinely, or unexpectedly, rely on. How will I prepare for the focus group? Focus group participants will be provided with a draft of the one-page tool by email several days in advance of the meeting. What happens when I get there? During the focus group, participants will be provided with some basic information about care plans and the aim of the draft tool (remember, you don’t need to be an expert in care plans in order to contribute). Participants will be asked questions about their impression of the tool and invited to provide feedback and make suggestions for improvement. How will my feedback be used? The input gathered at the meeting will be compiled into a summary document, and used to inform development of a care plan tool. The summary document and the final care plan will be shared with participants electronically.

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Leah Smith
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement | Southern Vancouver Island
778.678.3977
lsmith@bcpsqc.ca