The Primary Care Patient and Family Advisory Council (PCPFAC) partners patients and families with members of the health care team to provide guidance on how to improve the quality care at University of Missouri Health Care.
Interested in being part of this council, apply now.
What is Primary Care?
Primary care doctors and staff care for people from the time they are born to end-of-life. Rather than limiting their expertise to a specific part of the body or type of health problem, primary care doctors treat the whole person and focus on preventing illness. At MU Health Care, our primary care doctors include family medicine, general internal medicine and pediatric doctors.
Patients with primary care doctors experience better management of chronic diseases, lower overall care costs, and a higher level of satisfaction with their care.
What does the council do?
The mission of the Primary Care Patient and Family Advisory Council is to engage primary care patients and families with staff to improve the clinic experience and health of primary care patients. Our vision is for patients and families to have a consistent and essential voice in improving primary care at MU Health Care.
The experiences of our members help to inform the council about ways that future patient experience can be improved. We meet nine months out of the year. Our council has subgroups to address ongoing and follow-up topics that include virtual medicine, communications, the patient portal, data and diversity.
Some of our recent accomplishments include:
- Providing feedback to improve telehealth appointments.
- Active and ongoing participation in the navigation and accessibility of the patient portal, HEALTHConnect.
- Improving communications and processes related to COVID-19 vaccinations.
- Providing guidance that led to the expansion of the Food Insecurity Project to primary care settings for adults and pediatric patients.
- Acknowledging and addressing health care concerns of underserved populations. Our team members look at primary care patient demographics to understand where and why new clinic spaces are chosen, and to help attract more diverse providers.
Who can be on the council?
Council members can be patients and their family members who are currently receiving care at an MU Health Care primary care clinic. This includes family medicine, internal medicine and pediatric clinics.
Council members must:
- Be 18 years and older.
- Be able and interested in attending a minimum of one virtual meeting a month.
- Feel comfortable sharing insights and experiences in a productive way.
- Respect diversity and differing opinions.
