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Ask the Expert: How can we make our medical staff committee meetings more productive?

Medical Staff Leader Connection, May 3, 2007

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It can be difficult, sometimes, to justify holding meetings. But they are an important tool for communication in any organization, especially health care institutions. Some effective ways the medical staff office can support meeting efficiency are:

• Staff, organize, plan and facilitate meetings, including room arrangements.
• Prepare the agenda and minutes and any other relevant documents to help communication and decision making.
• Communicate the resulting actions (e-mail, bulletin boards.)
• Follow up to make sure action items are fulfilled.
• Act as liaison between med staff and the administration.

Weekly meetings can be meaningless if held simply because it's time. Make sure there are specific issues, news, or information to discuss. If you find that regular meetings are a waste of time, don't be afraid to schedule them less frequently.

It's always a good idea to evaluate how time spent in meetings translates to accomplishments. If there aren't observable actions, (which can include simple communication) it may be time to rethink the need for meetings.

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