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QualityExample Experience ScorecardAdapted from “The Board’s Role in Health Care Experience,” by Laura Orr and Katie Owens (Trustee Insights, Dec. 2023).

QualityThe Board’s Role in Health Care ExperienceTrustees have an opportunity to elevate their organization’s outcomes and performanceBy Laura Orr and Katie OwensIt is a pivotal time for our industry to assure the well-being and sustainability of health care organizations.

Health care boards that take a broader view of “quality” and incorporate measures that reflect this understanding are better able to assess performance in the right areas.

Education, preparation and collegiality can empower physician and lay member trustees to make fair and thoroughly vetted decisions.

The legal authority to approve, limit or deny provider credentials and privileges is a fundamental board responsibility. Organizations that centralize and standardize this process are better prepared to meet the field’s many changes and challenges.

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

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.

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.

Although scorecards that measure health system performance against established metrics have become an increasingly common and useful tool in the trustee’s governance toolbox, finding concrete, comprehensive ways to measure how well the organization is achieving its strategic goals — and, in turn, determining incentive compensation based on goal achievement — can be a daunting, ephemeral task. Here’s how one health care system has successfully connected all the dots.

In the publication, authors Joshi and Horak state that hospital trustees support hospitals’ fundamental missions to improve the health of the community. In a climate of growing concerns about the quality of health care and the amount we pay for it, trustees are called upon to oversee the transformation of the culture of the organization.

There’s hardly a health care board member, past or present, who hasn’t heard of the age-old governance mantra “no margin, no mission.” For years this simple phrase captured what most trustees came to believe was their primary obligation: to ensure the financial viability of their hospital or health system. Days cash on hand, debt coverage ratio and net operating margin were key measures that defined high or low performance.

Hospital and health system boards are being overwhelmed by hundreds of quality indicators from numerous sources. Many are required or linked to payment incentives, but some are part of voluntary improvement programs. Amidst the deluge of numbers, leaders could miss valuable, potentially actionable information.

For effective oversight, boards must engage at three levels: see, own and solve.