Hospital governing board oversight of healthcare quality varies widely, a newly published survey found.
“Our results show quality of care is often not a top priority for hospital boards,” wrote two Harvard School of Public Health researchers in a report published online by Health Affairs. Less than half of respondents (44%) ranked quality among the two highest priorities on the chief executive's performance evaluation. One-third of hospital governing boards received formal quality training. One-fifth of respondents considered the board chairperson, the board or its committees one of the most influential forces behind hospital quality.