Page 15 - FSANZ Autumn 21 Volume 95 Amended

Continuing focus on patient centred care
While the COVID-19 pandemic has derailed many of the Society’s in-person activities in the past year, the FSANZ has maintained an important focus on issues relating to patient centred care.
Dr Iolanda Rodino, representing the FSANZ Patient Centred Care Working Party, said a primary goal originally had been to host a national stakeholder round table aimed at gathering knowledge for the development of guidelines that could be implemented and measured within assisted reproductive technology units.
“But, faced with the many unpredictable restrictions on face-to- face meetings owing to the pandemic, it was clear this initiative was not going to be possible,” Iolanda explained.
“Consequently, the decision was made to provide members in lieu with professional development about vital aspects of patient centred care via a virtual learning platform.
“A highlight has been a multidisciplinary webinar that showcased perspectives from local and international experts in this field. It was a valuable introduction to FSANZ members to facilitate some understanding about the meaning and objectives of patient centred care.”
Maree Pickens, Chief Executive Officer of Access Australia, the national infertility network moderated the webinar. Maree also represents patient interests on the FSANZ Board.
“Dedicating a webinar focused on this aspect of patient care shows the FSANZ is committed to developing patient-centred care guidelines,” Maree said. “This was an important first step in raising awareness of what patient-centred care means in the field of infertility.”
The first speaker in the webinar was Dr Michael Alper, a reproductive endocrinologist at Boston IVF and Clinical Professor at Harvard Medical School. Boston IVF was a forerunner in embracing the ISO 9000:2008 international quality management system into an ART program.
Dr Alper, who specialises in all aspects of fertility care, spoke about not only meeting, but also exceeding patient expectations of care by measures including:
• reducing errors with a stronger focus on check lists;
• better reporting and communications;
• focussed education programs;
• service oriented practice with “never ending”improvements;
• judicious use of technology; and
• improved documentation and analytics.
Jan MacKenzie, Fertility Nurses of Australasia representative on the FSANZ Board, spoke about the importance of effective communication with patients with a focus on access, coordination, continuity, transition of care and privacy.
Maree Pickens
She provided excellent examples of how these measures may be implemented in an ART setting for better patient outcomes.
Rebecca Kerner, Chair of the Australian and New Zealand Infertility Counsellors Association (ANZICA) presented a short film on patient experiences entitled Care To Listen and Listen To Care.
She advocated a need to move away from “silo systems” of care across the medical, scientific, nursing and counselling disciplines to a more collaborative environment embracing individualised and transparent processes.”
A question and answer session followed and included valuable scientific input from Dr Petra Wale, the FSANZ Vice-President and Scientists in Reproductive Technology (SIRT) representative on the Society.
“The participation of the audience in the Q&A session reinforced the growing interest across IVF units to learn more about how they can offer more patient-centred care,” Maree Pickens added.
“Patients often feel they are on an assembly line and they welcome an increased focus on patient-centred care to better meet their individual needs.”
The FSANZ Board is developing a plan for further education in the field of patient-centred care and development of guidelines.
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