The Partnership for Patients’ (PfP) goal is to reduce harm across nine hospital-acquired conditions by 40 percent and preventable readmissions by 20 percent by December 2014. The PfP has also signaled to all hospital engagement networks their continued interest in patient and family engagement as a key driver of reducing harm.
To successfully reach the PfP goals by December 2014, we ask hospitals to develop a two-part action plan for
I.
achieving harm reduction; and
II.
patient and family engagement.
Action plan key elements include
 forming a multidisciplinary team;
 reviewing the past 12 months of data; and
 analyzing what has worked and where gaps in practice remain.
Involving the right people is key to improving processes of care and outcomes. Your organization may already have existing teams for selected conditions or it may need to form a new team. There may be one or more individuals with the knowledge or expertise to represent more than one role or responsibility.
Core team members:

Improvement team leader: Manages and leads day-to-day team operations. The team leader can be a physician, nurse, or other individual with enough authority to institute change and guide the team.
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
Hospital executive sponsor: A C-suite or senior leadership representative who provides oversight and links the project to organizational strategic goals.

Key data contact: Serves as the primary contact to the EHEN for data-related issues, including data collection/submission.

Physician champion: Provides technical and content expertise about the condition and brings an understanding of evidencebased practices and care processes to be improved. A physician champion helps rally support for change and may also act as a messenger to hospital administration and a liaison to medical staff.
In addition to core team members, the following should be considered as either permanent or ad hoc team members for areas impacted by or essential to the success of the project:

Internal o quality improvement experts o frontline staff (i.e., units, ancillary staff, emergency department) o educators o pharmacy staff/mangers o infection control staff o information technology o case managers o interpreter services

External o patient/family representative o home health services o primary care providers group/staff o skilled nursing facility staff o other outside group/agencies
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Each team should take time to perform an assessment of its current situation. This assessment can provide actionable information to guide the team when prioritizing efforts and selecting strategies. Teams should consider both quantitative and qualitative data:

Review baseline data and most current data.

Review past action plans and progress reports.

Interview patients, families, and health providers about current processes/gaps in practice.

Analyze your findings.
Based on findings from data and assessment reviews, teams should identify several areas where desired processes do not exist or are not occurring reliably. Teams should use this information to establish SMART goals and select improvement strategies and best practice priorities. SMART goals are S pecific, M easureable, A chievable, R elevant and T ime-specific.
Complete the EHEN 12-month action plan template by documenting
 interventions/strategies your team will test and implement;
 action steps needed for each strategy;
 anticipated start date; and
 person responsible.
Action plans must be submitted to the EHEN via EHEN@essentialhospitals.org
by March 21, 2014.
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:
Hospital Name:
Team Leader:
Our SMART goal by December 1, 2014, is:
[Condition]
Our action team members are (please provide information for all members of your team):
Name Title Email Address Team Role
Team leader
Executive sponsor
Data analyst
Physician champion
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Our 12-month plan for achieving our goal:
Interventions/
Best Practice Strategies
Actions/Tasks
Our 12-month plan to engage patient/family in this work:
Interventions/
Best Practice Strategies
Actions/Tasks
Start Date Responsible Person
Start Date Responsible Person
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