Family Advisor

Parents and other family members have experiences, perspectives, and expertise to offer, teach, and share. They can pose questions, provide feedback, suggest ideas, or propose solutions.

Why might a practice engage a family advisor? Pediatricians often talk with their patients about social drivers of health, infant and child mental health, and other complex and chronic healthcare needs. These conversations can be sensitive and raise questions around confidentiality, community referral services, health equity, and more. Family advisors can help practices address the best way these questions can be posed to families and develop solutions together. Their experiences and expertise make them the perfect partners to bridge the gap between community and clinical services. Family advisors should be compensated for their time, expertise, and contributions to practice improvements.

Value of Engaging Family Advisors for Practices and Patients

The relationship between families and their pediatrician is critical. These relationships can make a lifelong difference in child and family health. Meaningful patient and family engagement can help:

• Patients and families feel heard, understood, and respected.
• Improve patient outcomes and lower healthcare costs.
• Strengthen the family’s relationship with the clinical team and further embed the patient in the medical home.
• Promotes family engagement and partnership for improved patient outcomes.
• Show that the practice cares for the whole family and values their lived experiences.

Family Advisors can support practices to:

• Examine, reach, and maintain practice's mission, vision, and value statements.
• Be culturally responsive to the needs of the children and families served.
• Support families to address concerns related to child health.
• Address the unique needs of children with complex care needs and their families.
• Improve and bridge communication between parents and providers.
• Help identify and remove barriers to service.
• Serve as a connection between families and clinical and community providers.
• Identify practice changes that improve patient facing policies and procedures.