How to create the right governance structure for your practice

Although some private practices might think of business strategy in immediate terms, it is important to think about the long-term goals, or governance, of the organization. Not doing so could prove disastrous to a practice’s future business, experts say. One of the first things a private practice should do is understand the difference between governance and management.

“What you are asking governance to do is to set a strategy that will factor in to the next 10 years, and it will also shape your organization,” says Michael Dugan, vice president of Health Directions, LLC, a Chicago-based healthcare strategy and operations consulting firm. “The management of that is the actual follow-through. I guess you can say governance is what you want the organization to be, and management is how you want the organization to get there.” Governance, in other words, is providing direction toward the goals or mission of the business, whereas management is implementing that direction.