Annelies Pfeiffer, chair of the clinical workgroup
Patient care and safety are the top priorities in health care, and the central priority for medical providers is to find ways to strengthen that care for patients. The clinical workgroup, a subcommittee of PAH’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, has been doing just that.
Since its launch in November 2020, the clinical workgroup has been evaluating the current protocols in place at PAH and determining how to better incorporate DEI at the bedside.
The workgroup consists of a variety of employees representing various units and medical backgrounds to offer different perspectives and expertise in clinical care, including Annelies Pfeiffer, MSN, RNC-WHNP-BC, a nurse practice adviser and nurse practitioner in Women’s Health, who serves as the chair of the group.
“I’ve had several clinical positions at the hospital, so I felt the clinical workgroup is where I could have the greatest impact,” said Pfeiffer, who has been working at PAH since 2004. “We make sure to provide clinically competent care and determine if there are ways to improve our practices. We’re making sure we’re doing everything we can to support equitable provider-patient interactions.”
The clinical workgroup has been identifying policies that may need to be reevaluated in health care. They’ve been reviewing the Patient and Visitor Code of Conduct, looking for opportunities to revise any language to promote respect among all individuals and eliminate any form of discrimination at the hospital.
In addition, the workgroup has been collaborating to enhance how they collect and evaluate quality and safety data, such as readmission rates, infections, management of medical conditions, and survey responses and comments involving the patient experience, determining if there are any themes correlated to race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, among other patient characteristics. Analyzing this data can allow the workgroup to have a deeper understanding of any health care disparities and to identify areas for improvement in the hospital’s clinical setting.
Once data is examined, and any disparities or inequalities are identified, the clinical workgroup plans to team up with the research workgroup to figure out the types of interventions needed to address and remove these gaps in clinical care.
“We’re proud to help inspire change and to reinforce an inclusive environment at PAH,” said Pfeiffer.