Rollins G. Getting boards on-board: Leadership engagement key to reaching quality goals. The Safety Net. Fall 2008:8-9.

Reaching the point where boards drive the health care quality agenda occurs over time through a variety of mechanisms, according to quality experts. This article discusses how to engage boards in quality and features six steps toward board engagement, recommended by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Shared with permission of the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems.

Gosfield AG, Reinertsen JL. Avoiding quality fraud. Trustee. 200 Sep;61(8).

Few health care senior leaders and trustees realize that if they are aware that their institution is not delivering high-quality care, they can be considered to have committed “quality fraud.” This article reviews the background of liability for “quality fraud,” highlights trustee responsibility for these issues, and offers some practical guidance to navigate the new risks.

Conway J. Could it happen here? Learning from other organizations' safety efforts. Healthcare Executive. 2008 Nov/Dec;23(6):64-67.

Another article in a series on IHI's 5 Million Lives Campaign intervention on governance leadership, the author presents a "checklist" for ongoing learning from tragic medical events. Executive leaders and boards of trustees should set a clear expectation that the lessons learned from major safety failures are translated into recommendations for changes in practice.

Reinertsen JL. Board leadership in clinical quality: A US perspective. In: Baker MA, Corbett A, Reinertsen JL. Quality and Patient Safety: Understanding the Role of the Board. Toronto: Ontario Hospital Association Governance Centre of Excellence; 2008.

Jim Reinertsen describes how a hospital board can more effectively oversee clinical quality and patient safety. This chapter is excerpted from a policy document, developed by the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) in Canada, that outlines the board’s role and responsibilities for improving quality of care and leading the quality agenda. The entire OHA policy document and other resources are available at the OHA Governance Centre of Excellence website (www.gce-oha.com).

Donald Berwick, MD: Connecting finance and quality. Healthcare Financial Management. 2008 Oct:53-55.

In this Q&A interview, Institute for Healthcare Improvement CEO Donald M. Berwick, MD, talks about how health care financial executives should be helping to build bridges between finance and health care quality. He says that clinical improvements can be good for the financial well-being of a health care organization.

Nolan T, Martin L, Mountford J, Neumann C, Schummers D. A three-part approach to patient safety: Balanced strategy improves value, reduces costs. Healthcare Executive. 2008 Sep/Oct;23(5):70-74.

This article describes the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's three-part approach for improving the bottom-line performance in hospitals and other health care settings. Establishing a balanced strategy of initiatives and driver diagrams are explained. The balanced strategy is a tool that gives leaders a way to ensure improved patient outcomes and reduced costs.

Salazar C. Wanted: A health care system that has your back. DOCTalk. July/August 2008.

What does America need? According to Dr. Donald M. Berwick, President and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, one thing we need is a health care system that won’t bankrupt us when we get sick. In this interview Dr. Berwick gives his views on the kind of health care system we could have and the form that health care reform should take.

Salazar C. Out in the field. DOCTalk. July/August 2008.

In this interview Maureen Bisognano, Executive Vice President and COO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, talks about the philosophy behind her drive to improve health care. She credits in-the-field observation and international cooperation as the keys to improving health care on a large scale.

McCannon J, Bisognano M. The American health care system is in pieces — but some of the pieces are doing remarkably well. The Huffington Post. August 5, 2008.

Despite the findings of The Commonwealth Fund's 2008 National Scorecard on US Health System Performance, IHI's Joe McCannon and Maureen Bisognano remind us that we can learn from the parts of the system that are performing exceedingly well to make meaningful progress.

Berwick DM. A transatlantic review of the NHS at 60. British Medical Journal. 2008 Jul;337(7663):212-214.

In his remarks at the 60th anniversary celebration of the UK's National Heatlh Service (NHS) in July 2008, IHI President and CEO Don Berwick comments on the NHS journey to achieve world-class health care excellence and makes ten suggestions for the future.