Notwithstanding the emphasis on patient-centeredness or the importance of """"""""including the patient as partner"""""""" in the extant public discussion of patient safety, health care consumers arguably are the least represented stakeholder perspective in deliberation on health care safety and quality issues. Because consumers are not as organized as other stakeholder groups their interests and needs, their responses to the IOM recommendations on patient safety (as well as research or health policy proposals issued by others), and their recommendations for future action have not been well captured or well integrated into research or policymaking activities. To our knowledge, a description of the panoply of patient safety issues facing consumers, developed through a patient-centered, patient-led deliberative process, has not been articulated. This application proposes a facilitated workshop designed to build on actual consumer experience with the health care system in order to envision proactive partnership roles for patients and to engage other ancillary sectors in realizing the vision consumers articulate. These ancillary sectors include the legal system, governmental bureaus that have a role in regulating health care organizations or professionals, public or private organizations that accredit healthcare organizations or professional training programs, and public or private organizations that have consumer ombudsman, advocacy or protection functions, among others. Specific objectives include: (A) to articulate the ways in which consumers can contribute to safety and what their roles and responses are as partners in ensuring good healthcare treatment outcomes (""""""""the vision""""""""); (B) to outline the obstacles, gaps and opportunities in the current environment have encountered in their attempts to advance patient safety; and identify what is being done, how successfully and by whom (the """"""""environmental analysis""""""""); (C) to identify what else can be done, short term and long term (the """"""""action plan""""""""); (D) to make findings and recommendations for next steps. A conference report will be prepared that will be useful in informing research and policymaking agendas that seek to advance a patient-centered health care system in the 21st Century. It will be widely distributed in an electronic format. This proposal has been developed by the Institute for Alternative Futures and the Partnership for Patient Safety working in consortium with consumers.
