The Institute for Patient Care

Collaborative Governance

Collaborative Governance is the decision-making process that places the authority, responsibility and accountability for patient care with practicing clinicians. Collaborative Governance is based on the beliefs that a shared vision and common goals lead to a highly committed and productive workforce, that participation is empowering and that people will make appropriate decisions when sufficient knowledge is known and communicated (Patient care Services Operating Plan, 2002).

Since launching Collaborative Governance in 1997, much has changed in health care, technology and the evolving needs of our patients and families. In 2010, a redesign effort was initiated to better align the work of Collaborative Governance with the strategic goals of Patient Care Services and the hospital, regulatory readiness and Magnet re-designation efforts. To reflect the scope of Collaborative Governance, Excellence Every Day and Magnet champions are now integrated into the new committee structure. Now all Collaborate Governance members are identified as champions and share the same organizational charge — to influence, communicate and educate.

The success of the 2010 redesign with its creation of separate committees on, fall prevention, pain management, skin care, and restraint solutions can be measured by: HCAHPS, safety reports, skin breakdown prevalence survey, and the decrease use of restraints. These results tell us that while we will never, not focus on these issues; we need to find ways to consistently bring together clinicians to address those issues together rather than in separate committees. In 2015 a redesign effort was launched to integrate those quality measures into one committee and to create a new committee focused on the patient experience.

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