Board Work: Governing Health Care Organizations / Edition 1

by Dennis D. Pointer, James E. Orlikoff

Overview

American College of Healthcare Executives 2000 James A. Hamilton book of the year award

Written by Dennis Pointer and James Orlikoff, two of the most experienced and highly regarded governance consultants in thecountry, Board Work presents a practical model focusing on those factors that most affect board performance. Rich withprescriptive information, practical ideas, assessment tools, and examples, Pointer and Orlikoff provide the expert coaching boardsneed to do their best work and add value to their organizations.

Based on the authors' forty years of combined experience, thiseye-opening book arms boards with tools and techniques tosignificantly enhance their performance and contributions. Pointer and Orlikoff forward concrete recommendations for implementing benchmark governance systems and practices, creating the essentialguide for those who want to make a real difference on behalf of communities they serve.

"This is the best book on health care organization governanceI have ever read."
—Stephen Shortell, Blue Cross of California Distinguished Professor of Health Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780787942991
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	06/10/1999
Series:	Health Series
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.53(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

DENNIS D. POINTER is principal of Dennis D. Pointer & Associates, which has provided governance consultation and development services to more than three hundred health care organizations, nonprofits, governmental agencies, and commercial corporations. He has written many books and articles, including Really Governing, winner of the American College of Healthcare Executives Book of the Year Award. Dr. Pointer holds the John J. Hanlon Chair of Health Care Research and Policy in the Graduate School of Public Health at San Diego State University. He is alsothe Austin Ross Professor, Department of Health Services, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington (Seattle).

JAMES E. ORLIKOFF is president of Orlikoff & Associates, Inc.,a consulting firm specializing in health care governance and leadership. A nationally recognized authority on effective governance, he has written ten books and more than fifty articles,and has consulted with more than five hundred organizations to strengthen their governance effectiveness. He is the National Advisor on Governance and Leadership to the American Hospital Association and the Health Forum and is a founding member of the Governance Advisors of the Governance Institute where he is a member of the faculty.

Table of Contents

Welcome to the Board Why Governance? Governance for Whom? Governance Checkup Benchmark Governance Practices.

The New Game of Governance Two Faces of Change The Revolution inHealth Care Governance Checkup Benchmark GovernancePractices.

Governance Performance and Contributions.

Governance Responsibilities Ends Management Performance Quality ofCare Finances Self Benchmark Governance Practices.

Governance Functioning Policy Formulation Decision Making OversightBenchmark Governance Practices Essence of the Verb "toGovern".

Governance Structure Issues in System Governance Structure BoardSize Committee Structure Principles of Effective StructureGovernance Checkup Benchmark Governance Practices.

Governance Composition Casting Basics Composition Models TermLimits Removing a Board Member Ex Officio Members CommunityRepresentation Governance Checkup Benchmark GovernancePractices.

Governance Infrastructure The Effective Governance Pyramid AnnualBoard Goals and Objectives Annual Board Work Plans Board AgendaControl Board Information Control Evaluation Vision RelatedGovernance Issues Governance Checkup Benchmark GovernancePractices.

Board Membership Checkup Thirty-Eight (Really) Great Ideas forBecoming a Better Board Person.

Transforming Governance How Does Your Board Rate? The GovernancePerformance Map The Transformation Process The Last Word.

Appendix A: A Profile of Health System and HospitalGovernance.

Appendix B: Illustrative Board Policies.

Appendix C: Illustrative Committee Charters.

Appendix D: Governance Resources.

References and Bibliography.

Index.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Richard L. O'Brien, MD (Creighton University)
Description: Two experienced researchers working with and consulting for healthcare governing boards have described and analyzed effective boards of healthcare organizations in this book. They explore responsibility structure, composition, functioning, and means of improving boards and their operation.
Purpose: The purpose is to provide board members, board chairs, and CEOs with practical ideas for transforming boards and enhancing board performance.
Audience: Board members, chairs, and CEOs are the audience. This is also a good work for other senior healthcare managers and for students of healthcare administration.
Features: The responsibilities and operations of boards, and how to achieve effective board structure, composition, and functioning are discussed. Different kinds of healthcare boards and their relationships to related entities, either superior or subsidiary are described. Board education and development are also discussed, and selection, monitoring, rewards, and removal of CEOs are included. Specific instructions are provided for being a good board member. Twelve governance check-ups/inventories are provided. There are good diagrams illustrating major messages.
Assessment: This is a very useful, clear exposition presented in logical sequence, flowing smoothly from definition of the purpose of boards to effective modes of functioning to useful means for transforming boards to make them more effective. Practical and easy-to-implement guidance is provided for board members and chairs. This book is superior to and more accessible to board members than any other book I have read on the subject. Good references and recommendations for further reading are included, as are other resources for board education and development. I wish this book would be read by every board member and manager of the healthcare organizations with which I am involved and on the boards of which I sit. This is an excellent framework for annual review of board responsibilities and operations.

Doody's Review Service

"This is the best book on health care organization governance Ihave ever read." —Stephen M. Shortell, Blue Cross of CaliforniaDistinguished Professor of Health Policy and Management, Universityof California, Berkeley

"The strategic edge, effective governance . . . Pointer andOrlikoff have written a book that is a 'must read' for thosemanaging and governing in today's complex health care environment."—David L. Bernd, CEO, Sentara Health System

"The partnership of Pointer and Orlikoff, with their vastexperience, skills, and leadership, makes this the guide for healthcare governance-now and into the foreseeable future." —RoySchwarz, Jr., chair, board of trustees; Carolyn C. Roberts,president and CEO, Copley Hospital, Inc.

"Written by two of the most experienced and highly regarded healthcare governance consultants in the country, Board Work isnoteworthy in its ability to challenge old assumptions aboutgovernance and serves as an excellent road map for enhancing yourboard's capabilities." —J. K. Pearlman, board chair; Mark R.Neaman, president and CEO, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare

"Hard-hitting and directly to the heart of the issue, Board Work isa must for those trustees who want their organizations to survivein the rapidly changing world of health care." —E. GeorgeMiddleton, Jr., board chair, Sentara Health System

From the Publisher

4 Stars! from Doody

Two experienced researchers working with and consulting for healthcare governing boards have described and analyzed effective boards of healthcare organizations in this book. They explore responsibility structure, composition, functioning, and means of improving boards and their operation. The purpose is to provide board members, board chairs, and CEOs with practical ideas for transforming boards and enhancing board performance. Board members, chairs, and CEOs are the audience. This is also a good work for other senior healthcare managers and for students of healthcare administration. The responsibilities and operations of boards, and how to achieve effective board structure, composition, and functioning are discussed. Different kinds of healthcare boards and their relationships to related entities, either superior or subsidiary are described. Board education and development are also discussed, and selection, monitoring, rewards, and removal of CEOs are included. Specific instructions are provided for being a good board member. Twelve governance check-ups/inventories are provided. There are good diagrams illustrating major messages. This is a very useful, clear exposition presented in logical sequence, flowing smoothly from definition of the purpose of boards to effective modes of functioning to useful means for transforming boards to make them more effective. Practical and easy-to-implement guidance is provided for board members and chairs. This book is superior to and more accessible to board members than any other book I have read on the subject. Good references and recommendations for further reading are included, as are other resources for board education and development.I wish this book would be read by every board member and manager of the healthcare organizations with which I am involved and on the boards of which I sit. This is an excellent framework for annual review of board responsibilities and operations.

Richard L. O'Brien

Issues a wake-up call to the nation's 20,000 health care organization boards and lays out a visionary and detailed road map to help confront the challenges of the US health care marketplace. Presents a practical model focusing on factors that affect board performance, with prescriptive information, practical ideas, assessment tools, and examples. Pointer is principal for a firm which provides governance consultation and development services. Orlikoff is president of a consulting firm specializing in health care governance and leadership. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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