Promoting Patient and Family Centered Care Using Family

Promoting Patient and Family Centered Care Using Family Journey Mapping and Principles of Lean Process Improvement Pauline Deane and Tomasz Majek, Regional Lean Transformation Services, Vancouver Coastal Health Sonja Sinclair, Regional Youth Addiction Manager, Vancouver Coastal Health CONTEXT In order to promote safe Patient and Family Centered Care at VCH, the Lean Transformation Services team has been helping the Regional Mental Health team engage clients and their families using a visual family journey mapping process. PROBLEM / ISSUE Traditionally Adult Health Care has provided treatment or care to the individual client accessing services around mental health without considering or addressing the needs of other family members, in particular children, who may be affected by the challenges of parents coping with mental health issues. INTERVENTION Using this interactive approach drawing on appreciative inquiry, graphic recording and principles of lean process improvement, we helped the teams capture the clients' stories. This included points of interaction with not only care providers but other stakeholders and actors in the community, what was particularly valued or effective, as well as what did not work or caused harm along the client's journey. The large format illustrated journey validates the clients’ experience in a tangible artefact and provides a permanent record of what improvements are required from the clients' perspective. MEASUREMENT This visual method allows for an empathy based approach to process improvement, placing the client and their family at the center of our efforts to improve the reliability and quality of care provided at VCH. The process has been wellreceived not only by the clients and their families, but also by the mental health team workers, social workers, case managers and other care providers who have gained greater clarity regarding barriers experienced by many of their clients, and a new found motivation to build connections across silos. CHALLENGES and LESSONS LEARNED The main challenge in using family journey mapping is to ensure open communication where ideas and honest feedback can flow freely while discussing difficult clinical scenarios. Being able to draw on relationships based on trust between staff and clients where all feel supported while maintaining confidentiality has been the key to mapping for process improvement. FOR MORE INFORMATION Marta. Filipski@vch. ca Pauline. Deane@vch. ca Sonja. Sinclair@vch. ca Tomasz. Majek@vch. ca