While studies suggest board members and senior level management can influence quality and safety clinical outcomes, the actual time such leaders spend on these initiatives is less than 25 percent, according to a study in BMJ Open.
Researchers analyzed 19 previous studies on healthcare managerial activities including strategy, culture and data-centered activities, goal setting and feedback to identify and assess the activities, time spent and engagement of hospital board members in care quality.
In every study examining time spent on quality and safety by board members, the majority of boards spent 25 percent or less of members' time on quality, according to the study. Such findings can have serious implications on patient safety as the analysis indicated boards that spend more than 25 percent on quality demonstrate higher quality performance.
While the findings suggest many board members do not spend sufficient time on quality and safety, researchers also note there is too little empirical evidence on hospital managerial work and how it impacts care quality.
Researchers suggest more empirical research is needed to further understand the role of managers throughout a system's organization. They also suggest healthcare organizations might establish a board quality committee to help keep quality and patient safety as a top priority.
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