Welcome to the Patient Advisors Network (PAN)

PAN is a:

Community of practice for patient/caregiver partners both new and involved dedicated to improving healthcare for all.

Consulting practice offering services to healthcare organizations and teams based on the expertise of patient/caregiver partners.

PAN is a Canadian not-for-profit.

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Independent – Informed – Connected

Patient/Caregiver Partners

Interested in being a PAN member?

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Want to Engage a Patient/Caregiver Partner?

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Impact through Design

PAN member Mindy Tindall brings a holistic, inclusive lens to her work as a patient/caregiver partner. Her vision leaves no one behind. She imagines streets, parks, hospitals, and libraries that account for every member of society—people with strollers, cyclists, wheelchair users, drivers, and even pets.

Mindy’s work reminds us that thoughtful design can lead to more inclusive, accessible environments – in healthcare and beyond. Read more about her story below.

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A Path with Purpose

We often hear the phrase “walking in someone else’s shoes,” but we can never truly understand another’s experience until they share it with us. 

In healthcare, we often take for granted that everyone receives the same level of care and attention. But that’s not always the case. This is where Donalda’s social justice work shines, highlighting the inequities that exist. As she puts it, “When you enter a space where you aren’t represented, it affects how you feel about yourself.”

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Showcasing a Year of Progress: PAN Annual Report 2023-24

We are excited to share the release of our 2023-24 Annual Report, showcasing the progress and achievements of the PatientAdvisors Network (PAN) over the past year. Our mission remains focused on integrating the invaluable insights of patients and caregivers into every aspect of healthcare, from policy to education.

Over the past year, we have made significant strides in expanding our community, building new partnerships, and advancing critical discussions.

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PAN Co-founder Receives Global Award for Patient Engagement!

The innovative approach that the Patient Advisors Network (PAN) has for supporting the patient/caregiving partner community has been recognized globally by its peers.One of PAN’s co-founders and co-chairs, Alies Maybee, was awarded the Made with Patients Champion Award in May 2024 at the Patient Engagement Open Forum (PEOF) conference in Bavano, Italy. She shares this global award with Abigail Simon-Hart from Nigeria.

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PAN reimagines research

Read our report.

Why do we often feel like outsiders?

We often talk about lack of respect, not being listened to, being a token patient partner. We urge our colleagues to deal with these issues.

They respond saying they respect and value us but often these feelings don’t translate into actions. Their actions don’t result in our being respected, being listened to, being treated like an equal.

So why is this?

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Patient safety is so much more than physical safety in hospital settings

PAN kicked off Canadian Patient Safety Week 2023 with a conversation on October 23 where PAN Community members looked at the changing views of patient safety. Clearly our Community of patient/caregiver partners has thought deeply about many aspects of safety.

At a high level, we discussed the need to expand the notion of patient safety to include psychological and cultural safety.  It was also clear that the healthcare system itself contributes to safety … or lack of safety.

Read on to learn about the reflections that were shared.

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Key Links

PAN’s Insights

Selected patient partner insights. For more, go to the Insights tab.

PAN Members Community Guidelines

We want everyone to feel welcome on our PAN community site, so we’ve created these guidelines to foster the community we would like to see. By joining and participating in our Community, you agree that you have read and will follow these guidelines.

Within the PAN Community site and in our dealings with each other through other PAN initiatives:

  1. Be respectful. We all have a shared goal of making healthcare better for Canadians. The PAN Community may include people you work with or may meet in future. As members of PAN, we demonstrate respect in our communication, sharing and crediting of resources/knowledge and  in our interactions with each other and stakeholders from outside the PAN.

 

  1. Focus on a positive and collaborative approach.  Let’s work together to build strong relationships so we can achieve great things. Diversity of thought and sharing of perspectives is healthy – we won’t all agree on everything, but we want to keep an open mind to consider new ideas and change.

 

  1. Do not discriminate or engage in harmful activity. We value different ideas and opinions but there is no place for any activity that could hurt someone, whether it’s physical, emotional, mental or digital. Racism, hateful language, or discrimination of any kind is not acceptable. Don’t post anything you wouldn’t want everyone in the world to know about or that you wouldn’t want anyone to know that it came from you.

 

  1. Use your true identity. We made this community site private so that we can feel free to be ourselves. Each member is vetted by our team to ensure people are here for the right reasons. Communicating with each other is based on trust.

To ensure the PAN community remains a safe place for all members, we ask you that you contact hello@patientadvisors.ca if you encounter a situation where guidelines may have been breached. PAN reserves the right to suspend or terminate membership in the Community for anyone who violates these guidelines.

 

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Directives de la communauté des membres du PAN

Nous voulons que tout le monde se sente bienvenu sur notre site Web communautaire de PAN. Nous avons donc créé ces directives pour aider au développement de la communauté que nous aimerions voir. En rejoignant et en participant à notre communauté, vous acceptez de lire et de suivre ces directives.

Sur le site de Web de la communauté de PAN et dans nos relations mutuelles dans le cadre d'autres initiatives de PAN :

  1. Soyez respectueux. Nous partageons tous l'objectif d'améliorer les soins de santé pour les Canadiens. La communautéde PAN peut inclure des personnes avec lesquelles vous travaillez ou que vous pourriez rencontrer à l'avenir. En tant que membres de PAN, nous faisons preuve de respect dans notre communication, le partage et l'attribution de ressources/connaissances et dans nos interactions les uns avec les autres et avec les parties prenantes extérieures de
  2. Se concentrersur une approche positive et collaborative.  Travaillons ensemble pour construire des relations solides afin de réaliser de grandes choses. La diversité de pensée et le partage des perspectives sont sains - nous ne serons pas tous d'accord sur tout, mais nous voulons garder l'esprit ouvert pour envisager de nouvelles idées et des changements.
  3. Ne faites pas de discrimination et neparticipez pas à des activités nuisibles. Nous apprécions les idées et les opinions différentes, mais il n'y a pas de place pour les commentaires susceptibles de blesser quelqu'un, que ce soit physiquement, émotionnellement, mentalement ou numériquement. Le racisme, les propos haineux ou la discrimination sous quelque forme que ce soit ne sont pas acceptables. Ne publiez rien que vous ne voudriez pas que tout le monde sache ou dont vous ne voudriez pas que l'on sache qu'il vient de vous.
  4. Utilisez votre véritable identité. Nous avons rendu ce site Web communautaire privé afin que nous puissions nous sentir libres d'être nous-mêmes. Chaque membre est accepté manuellementpar notre équipe pour s'assurer qu'il est là pour les bonnes raisons. La communication entre nous est basée sur la confiance.

Pour s'assurer que la communauté de PAN reste un endroit sûr pour tous les membres, nous vous demandons de contacter hello@patientadvisors.ca  si vous rencontrez une situation où les directives ont été violées. PAN se réserve le droit de suspendre ou de résilier l'adhésion à la communauté de toute personne qui enfreint ces directives.

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Patient/Caregiver Partners (P/CPs) are people with lived/living experience of the health system as patients and/or caregivers committed to improving the health system. We use the term P/CP, however other groups use terms such as:
- patient advisor
- patient family advisor
- patient experience advisor
- patient partner
- patient public partner
- Person with lived/living experience (PWLLE or PWLE)

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