The consent agenda is designed to expedite the conduct of routine business during board meetings in order to allocate more meeting time to education and discussion of substantive issues.
A board that finds that roughly 20 percent or more of meeting time is occupied by routine items should consider use of a consent agenda.
The consent agenda should include only routine financial, legal and administrative matters that require board action, and which are expected to be non-controversial and not requiring of discussion.
Consent agenda items always will have been reviewed by a board committee, medical staff committee, or senior management in advance.
Motions, resolutions and all supporting materials for the consent agenda should be sent to board members at least one week in advance. The consent agenda should be considered early in a board meeting. Any member may have an item removed from the consent agenda for separate consideration.
It is not appropriate to add to the consent at the meeting without circulating background information in advance.
For a sample board policy on using consent agendas, please see "Policy On Consent Agendas" (PDF).
There is a substantial amount of variance in meeting frequency. According to the 2003 survey of boards by The Governance Institute:
What are the most common committees of hospital and health system boards? According to the 2003 survey of boards by The Governance Institute, 93% of hospital and health system boards have one or more board committees. The range was one to 19 committees – with a median of five committees. The most common committees are:
Some 73% of hospitals and health systems consider a formal program of orientation and ongoing education “very important” to effective governance. An initial orientation program for new directors should include:
Follow-up orientation sessions might drill down on financial matters, quality and patient safety, physician relationships, community health, advocacy, and fund development. Ongoing education should keep the board updated on industry trends, emerging issues and effective governance practices. See the “Resources” section of the Great Boards website for an orientation course outline and other tools.