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Should trustees be members of medical staff committees? Its' debatable
Trustee : the Journal for Hospital Governing Boards
|May 12, 1978
Insights
Trustee membership on medical staff committees is not ideal for liaison. The organized medical staff, not trustees, should provide quality of care assurances to the governing board.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Medical Staff Governance
- Hospital Administration
Background:
- Effective communication and accountability between medical staff and governing boards are crucial for quality patient care.
- Traditional liaison methods, such as trustee membership on medical staff committees, are being re-evaluated for their efficacy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically assess the appropriateness of trustee membership on medical staff committees as a mechanism for liaison.
- To define the optimal channels for communication and accountability regarding quality of care assurances.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of healthcare governance structures.
- Review of established principles in medical staff organization and board oversight.
Main Results:
- Trustee participation on medical staff committees does not represent an appropriate liaison strategy.
- Accountability for quality of care assurances should reside solely with the organized medical staff.
Conclusions:
- The organized medical staff is the appropriate entity to provide assurances on quality of care to the governing board.
- Governance models should ensure direct communication lines from the medical staff to the board, bypassing potentially ineffective trustee intermediaries.
Abstract:
Trustee membership on medical staff committees is not an appropriate way of ensuring liasion between the medical staff and the governing board. All assurances concerning quality of care should come to the governing board from the organized medical staff, to whom such accountability is and should be delegated.