Navy healthcare professionals have long understood the need for good communication and rapport between the patient and the medical department staff. The atmosphere in which patient care is given has a tremendous effect on the patient’s perception of the quality of care. The quality of medical care rendered to Navy beneficiaries is superb; however, too frequently the medical care is perceived by the patient to be substandard because personnel in patient contact points are not adequately trained in interpersonal relations. Good patient rapport is an essential element of health care delivery. Many complaints voiced by patients would not occur if personnel manning critical patient contact points presented a courteous, positive, and knowledgeable attitude that reflected a genuine concern for the patient. To this end, the Patient Relations Program was implemented through BUMEDINST 6300.10, Health Care Relations Program. The Patient Relations Program’s primary goal is to provide assistance by intervention in and resolution of a patient’s complaints or problems. The Patient Contact Program, a subset of the Patient Relations Program, ensures an effective means of resolving such issues before the patient departs the facility. As an adjunct to this goal, both programs strive to enhance the channels of communication between the hospital and the patient population, as well as among the hospital staff. FAMILY ADVOCACY PROGRAM LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Recognize policies and procedures pertaining to the Family Advocacy Program. The purpose of the Family Advocacy Program is to identify, treat, and monitor Navy personnel engaging in spouse or child abuse/neglect (whether physical or psychological) and sexual abuse. The program, a responsibility of the Navy Military Personnel Command, is guided by SECNAVINST 1752.3 and, further, by BUMEDINST 6320.70. In each g e o g r a p h i c a l l o c a t i o n , a F a m i l y A d v o c a c y Representative (FAR), usually a staff member of the Naval Hospital, manages the program. A basewide committee, composed of medical, line, chaplain, and Family Service Center personnel, reviews abuse cases and determines whether each case is established, suspected, or unfounded. Established cases are reported at the central registry at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, where service statistics are compiled and the future assignment of established abusers is monitored and controlled. DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE PREVENTION AND CONTROL PROGRAM LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Recognize policies and procedures pertaining to the Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention and Control Program . The Navy has established a “zero tolerance” standard for drug usage. Although prevention and punishment are still major components of the zero tolerance policy, the major emphasis has shifted to education and training. Routine after-care treatment of addiction is rarely offered to individuals found abusing drugs, and the most likely outcome of drug abuse is appropriate disciplinary action and separation from the service. Levels of alcohol-abuse treatment range from shipboard education programs to inpatient admission. Post-treatment consists of monitoring and support groups, both of which are crucial aspects of the 1-year after-care rehabilitation program. All individuals with substance abuse problems— whether alcohol- or drug-related—are totally accountable for their actions and the consequences of them in accordance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and other relevant federal, state, and local laws. See OPNAVINST 5350.4, Drug and A l c o h o l A b u s e P re v e n t i o n a n d C o n t ro l , and SECNAVINST 5300.28, Military Substance Abuse Prevention and Control, for additional information and guidance. Drug and alcohol abuse is costly in terms of lost work hours and unnecessary administrative and judicial processing and is a critical drawdown on morale and esprit de corps. It undermines the very fiber of professional readiness, safety, discipline, judgment, and loyalty. It is not only the abuser who is affected, but the abuser’s shipmates as well. “Zero tolerance” recognizes that drug and alcohol abuse is incompatible with the maintenance of high standards of performance, military discipline, and readiness, and is destructive of Navy efforts to instill pride and professionalism in its members. 15-4