Cancer Center Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC)

The Patient and Family Advisory Council is comprised of UCSF patients and their caregivers who participate in improving the patient experience by collaborating with leadership to identify problems and advance care delivery.

The Cancer Center Patient and Family Advisory Council’s mission is to infuse the patient and family voice into the delivery of care and to bring about change that improves the patient and family experience, facilitates ease of navigation, and fosters healing and wellness throughout all stages of disease and recovery.

We define the patient and family experience as the sum of all interactions, activities, and experiences that influence patient and family perceptions across the continuum of care, from initial contact through all stages of disease, and recovery. 

• Put the experience and skills of patients and caregivers to work in the service of improving care for all patients.
• Develop better tools to understand and measure the patient experience, including identifying service gaps and barriers to care.
• Partner with Cancer Center and UCSF leadership to delineate patient-centered solutions within and across departments and healthcare systems.
• Facilitate staff learning about the patient perspective by participating on patient panels, task forces and committees (architecture, patient education, Cancer Center Practices and committees, etc.)
• Develop patient materials to help patients and families navigate the cancer journey more effectively.
• Improve communication and service recovery (in-person, online, written and on the phone).
• Provide input into policies, infrastructure, and physical space.

• Patient and Family Advisory Council, which meets monthly via Zoom on the 4th Wednesdays of the month from 1-3 PM.  Members participate in patient panels, committees, and other projects on a volunteer basis.
• Online PFAC Forum as eAdvisors, where they respond to questions (often through email) several time a year. They may be invited to participate in time-limited projects, patient panels, and committees as needed.