Resource Library

Whether a board’s starting point is average performance or mediocrity, the journey to the top echelon of governance effectiveness cannot be achieved with a few quick steps. Board development is more like a marathon than a sprint.

While most health care governing boards may still rely on paper packets and board agenda books for board and committee meetings, adoption of board portals— Web-based, online workspaces that support health care governance—appears to be catching up with use in other sectors.

Establishing well-organized and consistent governance processes and procedures enables the board to be most productive, and ensures that its time is allocated to the most critical topics.

As the drumbeat of attention to governance effectiveness intensifies, the evaluation of individual directors is off-limits no more. Indeed, the New York Stock Exchange, Business Roundtable and National Association of Corporate Directors all recommend that corporate boards institute individual director assessment.

The tools that follow lay out a framework to assist you in that thinking and planning process with a focus on the competencies of individual trustees.

The role of a health care organization trustee gets more complicated and more sophisticated every day. Pressures are increasing simultaneously for higher quality, lower cost, more transparency and accountability, and use of evolving and evermore expensive technology.

By Mary K. Totten and Pamela R. Knecht In today’s health care environment, the need for collaboration has perhaps never been stronger, with hospitals and health systems pursuing partnerships in a number of ways, including alliances, networks, affiliations and, at times, full mergers and acquisitions. In both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, one form of collaboration — joint ventures — has long been viewed as a sound strategy for achieving multiple objectives.

Guided by their organization’s mission, vision and values, trustees must govern with their eye on the future, the well-being of patients, and the health of their communities.

Traditional community-based boards in health systems and hospitals have long been the stalwart of health care governance because of their value in connecting health care organizations to the communities they serve.

As community leaders, trustees are a powerful voice for their hospitals or health systems when it comes to advocacy. They can offer legislators “real life” insights and perspectives into the challenges facing patients and community members in the hospital’s service area, as well as how legislation and regulation will affect the women and men who work every day to fulfill their hospitals promise of help, hope and healing.

How well boards govern is influenced by a number of factors, among them, the knowledge and skills board members bring to their work.

The number of public quality scorecards for hospitals has increased exponentially in recent years as consumers take more interest in getting the most value for their health care dollar.

Voluntary accreditation is considered to be an important symbol of a hospital’s commitment to high-quality, safe care. Some consumers look for accreditation when choosing a hospital. Many health care professionals believe it is an important indicator of the commitment to quality and safety they are looking for when choosing a place to practice.

Health care is transforming to a value-based model, with the goals of improved care quality, access and outcomes for consumers, at lower costs. The means of achieving these goals is the effective management of health and health care services over the continuum of a population’s care and service needs.

An aging population, increasing rates of chronic disease and the onset of value-based payment structures are among the many drivers that have moved hospitals and health systems in recent years to take a more prominent role in disease prevention, health promotion, and other public health initiatives.

Analytics can be a tool for constructively engaging physicians in health systems’ transition to value.

Carolinas HealthCare System’s Journey to Revamp Its Mission & Vision Statements to Better Represent the Heart of the Organization

Elevate your healthcare experience with Carolinas Healthcare System. Learn about their mission to provide healthcare and related services.

This primer provides an overview of the MACRA law and includes questions to help boards, executives and clinical leaders discuss its impact on their organization.

For hospitals and health systems interoperability means applying this concept to the sharing of information in electronic health records (EHRs) and other health information through a fluid process that gives multiple providers in multiple locations actionable information to support safe and quality care and to engage patients in their own care.