Improving Efficiency: Understanding Healthcare Governance

The United States spent about $3.5 trillion on healthcare costs in 2017.

As healthcare costs increase, there has been more demand for healthcare providers to be more accountable. Large organizations across many industries are facing the same situation and have enacted governance policies.

These principles can be applied to the healthcare industry, especially since so much of the public good depends on positive outcomes from healthcare providers.

If you want to do more to make your healthcare organization successful, read on to learn what healthcare governance is and how you can develop a governance strategy in your healthcare organization.

What Is Healthcare Governance?

Healthcare governance is a policy framework that is used to hold people accountable across different areas of the organization. It’s widely used in how information and data are managed within the organization.

These policies can be applied to clinical governance, which is how providers in the organization deliver services and care for patients.

Corporate governance principles are applied to the high-level managers and board of directors of an organization. These principles oversee the business aspects, including regulatory compliance and profitability.

Benefits of Governance in Healthcare

Healthcare governance makes sense because there are many benefits for organizations that have a policy in place. There is a higher level of accountability throughout the entire organization.

The organization will also limit the risk across all areas. A data governance policy will ensure that information privacy standards are met. That limits the organization’s exposure to a healthcare information breach.

Developing a Healthcare Governance Strategy

Now that you see the broad scope and the benefits of healthcare governance, you’ll want to create a strategy for your organization.

You can start by deciding which areas need a governance strategy. You may decide to start with corporate governance or data governance.

You’ll want to get the various stakeholders in that area together. In the case of data governance, your primary stakeholders will be your IT team.

The team will form a workgroup, which will decide what the highest priorities are. They will then create a governance strategy. Read more here to learn more about creating a data governance strategy.

The process will work the same for clinical and corporate governance. You have to get input from all stakeholders to create an effective policy.

Holding Your Team Accountable

The governance policy isn’t going to do anyone good if it’s sitting in a drawer somewhere. You want to make sure there is a mechanism in place to ensure the team is following the new policy.

That can be done through regular audits. For example, a clinical governance audit looks at how providers are caring for patients. The audit will note improvements and opportunities to provide better care.

Good Governance in Healthcare

As a large organization that has to balance the interests of many stakeholders, it’s important to have a strategy in place to meet the needs of all stakeholders.

That’s really what healthcare governance is about. It holds everyone in the organization accountable to deliver the best patient care, keep operating costs down, and keep sensitive data safe.

For more healthcare business news, be sure to visit the home page of this site.