Hospital committees are an important forum for setting health system strategy and soliciting physician input—but only if committees operate effectively. All too often, ineffective committee operations stall progress and discourage meaningful physician involvement.

This toolkit provides downloadable templates that physician leaders and clinical executives can use to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of various hospital committees, with a particular focus on driving physician participation.

1. Jump to a tool:

   • Committee Effectiveness Red Flag Audit
   • Questions to Ask Before Chartering a New Committee
   • Committee Charter Template
   • Picklist to Promote Physician Meeting Attendance
   • Meeting Agenda Template
   • Anatomy of a Great Meeting Infographic
   • Committee Progress Report Template
   • Change Calendar Template
   • Committee Effectiveness Survey Template

   The Committee Effectiveness Toolkit

   Tool #1: Committee Effectiveness Red Flag Audit

   Use this audit to evaluate your committee(s) and identify tactics to increase engagement across three areas: streamlining committee structure, making more effective use of committee time, and adopting a comprehensive committee management approach system-wide.

   Suggested User(s): Committee chairperson, facility- and system-level CMOs

   Download the Audit

   
   

   Streamline Committee Structures

   Tool #2: Questions to Ask Before Chartering a New Committee

   Use these reflection questions to determine if starting a new committee is the right strategy to achieve your goal—or if there is a better way to deploy available resources.

   Suggested User(s): Facility- and system-level CMOs, hospital/health system board

   Download the Questions

   
   

   Tool #3: Committee Charter Template

   Use this template to clarify and communicate a committee’s scope, activities, and membership. Adopt a standard charter template across all committees to create consistency across your system.

   Suggested User(s): Committee chairperson, facility- and system-level CMOs, hospital/health system board

   Download the Template

   Download Texas Health Resource’s Heart and Vascular Leadership Council Charter

   Download Centura Health Pediatrics & Neonatal Intensive Care Clinical Council Charter

   
   

   Make More Effective Use of Committee Time

   Tool #4: Picklist to Promote Physician Meeting Attendance

   Getting busy physicians to attend committee meetings can be difficult given competing demands on their time. Review this picklist for ideas to overcome common barriers and make it easier for physicians to attend.

   Suggested User(s): Committee chairperson

   Download the Picklist

   
   

   Tool #5: Meeting Agenda Template

   Sending an agenda before every meeting helps clarify the purpose, enables participants to prepare, and encourages attendance. Use this template to capture the essential details for your next meeting.

   Suggested User(s): Committee chairperson

   Download the Template

   
   

   Tool #6: Anatomy of a Great Meeting Infographic

   Drawing on best practices from across Advisory Board research, this infographic serves as a visual guide to help you maximize everyone's time during meetings. Use it to guide the next meeting you personally facilitate, or share it with other physician leaders at your organization.

   Suggested User(s): Committee chairperson, facility- and system-level CMOs, hospital/health system board

   Download the Infographic

   
   

   Adopt a Comprehensive Management Approach Across Committees

   Tool #7: Committee Progress Report Template

   Having a clear plan for how to report updates helps committee leaders share the appropriate level of detail, facilitate discussion, and use meeting time efficiently. Use our Committee Progress Report Template to relay key information to leadership in a clear and concise manner.

   Suggested User(s): Committee chairperson

   Download the Template

   
   

   Tool #8: Change Calendar Template

   The cumulative impact of multiple committees’ initiatives can be overwhelming to frontline staff who are responsible for implementation—especially when initiatives that impact workflow roll out at the same time. Use a centralized change calendar to sequence committees’ activities evenly across the year and minimize change fatigue.

   Suggested User(s): Facility- and system-level CMOs

   Download the Template

   Download Texas Health Resources Change Calendar

   Download Sutter Eden Hospital Change Calendar

   
   

   Tool #9: Committee Effectiveness Survey Template

   Use this tool to gather committee members’ input on committee operations and effectiveness. The survey can be administered via hard copies, or electronically using a free survey website, such as SurveyMonkey. Compare results across committees to identify internal best practices, as well as system-wide opportunities for improvement.

   Suggested User(s):Committee chairperson, facility- and system-level CMOs

   Download the Template