How Do You Gain a CFO's Support for Quality and Patient Safety Programs?

During the actual presentation, Reeves says that whatever the topic, he prefers when he is briefed on the topic at a higher level, and then can asked more detailed questions about the points he is interested in.

"I would suggest you always start out at a very high level, and allow them to ask questions, to dig down deeper, and be prepared to answer those," Reeves says. "I would say something short to get their attention, and if they continue to want more, you're prepared to give more."

Don't forget to relate it to costs

Think about patient safety and satisfaction, but also financial impact.

"Give to-the-point, financial impact—especially if it's a positive financial impact, that will get their attention and they'll want to know more and how that's going to happen," says Reeves.

Hospital leaders making decisions about what new initiatives to take on each year are faced with the task of prioritizing, often in a world where seemingly every potential project could keep patients safer. One hospital leader cautions those pitching initiative ideas to use "the right thing to do" as the sole reason for taking it on.

"Don't hinge your whole pitch on just 'the right thing to do,'" says John Kane, vice president for quality and patient safety at Catholic Health in Buffalo, NY. "There [are] so many 'right things to do.' It's a given that patient-centered care is the right thing to do, but you don't need to make the assumption that quality always costs more."

Kane recommends tailoring a proposal to focus on the "dark green dollars" at stake. This term, being popularized by the IHI, refers to the money that can be attributed directly to the bottom line.

"As reform is coming down the line and it's really centered on cost reduction, as well as waste reduction, we're finding issues that give you strong motivation to go out there and try and figure out how you can get a return on investment through quality," says Kane. By focusing on safety within the organization, Kane says it is possible to reduce costs.