THE ACT FRAMEWORK

Reimagining Engagement | Expanding Impact | Improving Health Outcomes

A new framework that bridges the gap between patients, families, caregivers, communities, and healthcare systems by turning lived experience into actionable change.

Is your healthcare organization committed to partnering with people with lived-experience, but struggling to IMPACTFULLY engage a Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) or similar entity?

You're not alone — and you're not behind. ACT is here to help.

The ACT Framework creates high-impact, sustainable participation.

How to use The ACT Framework to Create Thriving Patient and Family Engagement

Offer Multiple Lanes of Engagement

to invite more diverse voices to the table, such as:

Surveys
Interviews
Focus Groups
Listening Sessions
Quality Initiatives
Safety Committees
Resource Development

Create a Strong Foundation

that nurtures and sustains healthy patient family engagement, such as:

Assign a Coordinator
Allow People to Self-Select
Gather Information
Embed PFE in Care
Engage your Community
Co-design Activities

ACT Framework Tree Infographic showing multiple lanes of engagement and strong foundation

Patient and family insights are embedded directly into your improvement activities.

What is the ACT Framework™ for Patient & Family Engagement?

The ACT Framework™ is a human-centered design model developed with patient family partners, frontline staff, and state and federal partners. The model helps organizations:

Expand and diversify engagement activities beyond traditional Advisory Council approaches
Implement inclusive "lanes of engagement" that better integrate lived-experience insights directly into improvement activities
Invite patients and families to participate in multiple "lanes of engagement" rather than a one-size-fits all way of participating
Optimize the impact of organizational engagement resources
Meet regulatory mandates and requirements for Advisory Councils, while authentically establishing transformative partnerships

Most importantly, the ACT Framework establishes more inclusive pathways for collaborating with historically underrepresented voices.

Why did we create the ACT Framework?

Traditional Advisory Councils often lack diverse representation and can have limited influence within an organization. It can feel like a burden instead of an enriching, collaborative experience. Oftentimes the participation of Patient Family Partners (PFPs) is siloed and limited making it harder to get important feedback from different voices.

The ACT Framework provides a flexible engagement approach that expands impact and reduces staff burden.

What Makes ACT Different?

By offering patients and family caregivers multiple lanes of engagement, the ACT Framework:

✅

Reduces burden

✅

Increases representation of your patient population

✅

Increases the impact of patient family partners on your organizational goals

The ACT Framework isn't just another toolkit — it's a shift in how engagement happens.

Traditional Advisory Council Challenges vs the ACT Framework Solution

What's the Difference?

General input

→

Relevant lived experience shaping real-time decisions

Limited Diversity

→

Removes barriers to participation for traditionally underrepresented communities

Checkbox participation

→

Productive collaboration

Isolated one-size-fits all advisory council

→

Flexible Lanes of Engagement create a dispersed engagement model

Low Impact

→

Embedded in System Strategy

Burnout

→

Flexible, Right-Sized Roles

Budget Constraints

→

Scalable Model

Who is this for... who does this benefit?

Hospitals and health systems

Medicaid agencies

Research teams

Measure developers

Policy makers

Health plans

Rural health communities

Primary care practices

And any health care teams looking to create or improve their patient family engagement strategy. ACT helps you meet evolving CMS regulations like the Patient Safety Structural Mandate (PSSM) that require patient and family engagement while building an inclusive engagement strategy that works.

How the ACT Framework Improves Advisory Council Effectiveness and Reduces Engagement Burden

This is not a one-size-fits all solution...

ACT offers engagement activities that can integrate with existing PFAC or Advisory Council infrastructures or establish more direct pathways that do not require the convening of a formal council.

A distributed approach to engagement activities has two benefits to the organization:

Flexibility to select the engagement activity that aligns with organizational priorities
Increased diversity of PFPs based on multiple opportunities to engage.

Why Healthcare Leaders Choose PFCCpartners

Coaching & technical assistance

Custom implementation support

Let's build a better engagement strategy together.

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ACT Framework™ — created by experts, guided by lived experience, and tailored to your organization's success.

The ACT Framework is a co-designed effort created by PFCCpartners, PFAnetwork members, State Hospital Association partners, front line staff members, and quality improvement professionals.

Let's elevate your patient engagement together!

ACT is your flexible, proven path forward.