Governance for quality and patient safety: the impact of the Ontario Excellent Care for All Act, 2010

Abstract

The passage of the Excellent Care for All Act, 2010 (ECFA Act) in Ontario has confirmed the responsibilities of hospital boards for quality of care and reinforced expectations that they will monitor performance and establish strategic aims in this area. Quality of care and patient safety have created a new agenda for many healthcare boards that had only a limited focus on these issues. Here, we report on interviews with five Ontario healthcare organizations identified by experts as having high-performing boards. Our question was, how has the ECFA Act influenced Ontario healthcare organizations' governance practices relating to quality and safety? While the act has raised the profile of these issues, in the short-term it may have blunted the effectiveness of some boards that had already developed a clear strategic focus on quality and patient safety. Executive compensation was the most contentious issue; the introduction of pay for performance was considered poor timing, given the Ontario government's pay freeze. Overall, the act is an important step in increasing responsible governance and has helped align governance activities with the core work of hospitals--delivering high-quality care. However, effective policy must create an environment where all organizations focus on improvement, but where regulation does not limit the capabilities of leading organizations to achieve even higher performance.