Resource Library

Standard Work for Governance Example Source: St. Charles Health System. Used with Permission. Lean principles and practices drive performance improvement by clarifying the steps involved in work processes to avoid wasting time reinventing how work should be done. The board of St. Charles Health System in Bend, Ore., developed “standard work” for several board processes to improve governance performance. An example of standard work for biannual distribution of director stipends appears here.

Health care is ripe for change. The evidence is all around us. A majority of health care leaders recently surveyed said hospitals and health systems are most in need of disruptive innovation (New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst, February 16, 2017). Consumers are taking charge of their own health and seeking providers that deliver high-quality, affordable and accessible care in ways they have come to expect from their favorite retailers. And disrupters from within and outside of health care are joining forces and competing with traditional health care organizations to give consumers what they are looking for.

A diagnostic tool and organization assessment can help boards address barriers to effective quality oversight.

This webinar from governance expert Jamie Orlikoff, explores the hospital board’s crucial responsibility for medical staff credentialing – one of the most difficult governance functions to perform effectively, and one of the most important board responsibilities for patient quality and safety. Become comfortable with the basics of credentialing and how to effectively oversee it to both protect patients and to assure fair, thorough and consistent treatment of physicians. Trustees will acquire a better understanding of the different but related processes involved in appointment and reappointment or physicians to the medical staff, and the delineation of clinical privileges.

Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare continues to transform itself to best adapt to the demands of the changing health care environment. As part of the current transformation, the health system has organized its leadership to optimize the interdependencies of safety, quality, patient experience and workforce engagement. Under this construct, the system streamlines decision making, minimizes waste and redundancy, and positions the organization to deliver exceptional patient-centered care.

Boards can foster patient-centered care by encouraging meaningful conversations during patient encounters and by incentivizing clinicians.

Boards need to assess troubled areas in their organizations, set goals for improving the culture, and hold leaders accountable for change.

Sustainable change requires a strategy to align improvement efforts and act on the interdependencies of four performance domains.

A growing movement of health care providers is systematically spreading best practices in the care of older adults.

For the past few years, “prices” in health care have generated some eye-popping headlines in the press — most notably drug prices. It is not news to anyone in health care that the prices providers pay for drugs and for health care technology seem to rise every year. Further, providers face the daunting task of needing to buy ever-increasing amounts of technology just to keep pace with clinical innovation.

Boards need to understand artificial intelligence to evaluate its evolving benefits and risks.

This webinar considers who gives to health care, why they are drawn to the cause and how organizations can support engagement of those most likely to give.

This webinar explores elements of fund development where volunteer leaders are most effective, what enables this effectiveness and how trustees and board members can optimize their engagement in advancing philanthropy.

To prepare for leadership succession, boards must identify talented leaders within the organization, take steps to retain them and develop them well for future roles.

This webinar examines the best practices of CEO succession planning in a health care setting. Bill Westwood, Senior Client Partner, Korn Ferry presents a thorough description of the process to follow to ensure that succession planning is smooth, efficient and objective. He offers specific recommendations for the roles that each party plays in the process, and what risks should be avoided. Board members, incumbent CEO's and potential CEO's will learn how to prepare for and execute succession planning in their organizations.

This webinar provides specific examples of and practical tools used by the highest-performing boards as they move toward five categories of advanced governance practices: Visionary, Strategic and ‘System’-focused; Nimble, Streamlined and Clear; Intentional, Disciplined and Consistent; Competency-based, Educated and Evaluated; and Objective, Transparent and Accountable.

Affordability is one of the most important challenges influencing Americans’ ability to access health care. However, no single, agreed-upon definition of health care affordability exists because it is influenced by many complex factors.

Health care providers must draw lessons from the core capabilities of successful companies in the internet economy.

Corporate boards, across industry sectors, are increasingly being called upon to support management as the company responds to how innovative competitors “disrupt” their existing business model. Blockbuster, Borders and ESPN are prime examples of established companies that have been pulled into the financial undertow created by nimble disruptors.

Hospitals and systems must understand the threats posed by market disruptors and craft specific strategies to protect their missions.