Efficient governance, information security, and compliance are essential for healthcare organizations, as they directly influence the quality of patient care and medical assistance.
Cybercrime is a growing threat for health boards, with data breaches costing an average of $9,7 million, and healthcare institutions experiencing 1,410 cyberattacks per week worldwide. Given these alarming figures, it’s critical that healthcare organizations can securely manage their board-level governance and communications.
A secure digital board meeting portal offers hospitals and health services a robust tool for organizing administrative tasks, document sharing, agenda management, and storing sensitive information.
This article explores how secure board portal software helps board directors enhance governance, improve efficiency, and ensure compliance in the healthcare sector.
What is a board portal?
A digital board portal is a secure online platform designed to improve board meeting processes. It consolidates meeting schedules, board materials, and secure communications, enabling board members to manage their workflows with greater efficiency and security.
For a deeper dive into the board member portal and its features, check out our article: What is a board portal?
Managing a board in the health sector comes with its challenges:
- Complex regulatory requirements
Health services and hospitals are faced with various regulations they must follow, which may vary from time to time. While compliance has never been more important, it is also a challenging process that has to be closely monitored. HIPAA-compliant board management software providers offer tracking and reporting tools. - Sensitive data handling
The confidentiality and secure transfer of sensitive healthcare information is a major concern. Board portals come with advanced security features to protect private patient and organizational data. Encryption and permission-based access controls ensure that information remains confidential, providing peace of mind for boards and organizations alike. - Coordination across multiple locations
When hospitals have facilities in different locations, ensuring all employees adhere to the same policies is hard. Additionally, corporate governance processes such as coordinating document exchange, meetings, and maintaining regular communication may be a problem for a health board.
The board management portal allows for the consolidation of all board activities. Regardless of location, board members can easily access and edit the relevant documents simultaneously. - Diverse stakeholder needs
Healthcare organizations constantly have to meet the needs of different stakeholders: patients, employees, and governments. The board portal platform simplifies communication with real-time updates and messaging functionalities. With hospital board software, it’s easier for committees to manage their duties and ensure stakeholders stay informed.
Key features of board management software for health services
In the healthcare industry, board management software plays a crucial role in maintaining compliance, security, and efficiency. Below is a breakdown of key features for healthcare boards:
- Compliance tools
Board software tailored for health services is required to provide HIPAA-compliant document management, ensuring adherence to legal standards. Features such as audit trails and secure communication further guarantee that your board’s actions can be tracked and reviewed. - Security features
Key security features include multi-factor authentication to prevent unauthorized access, encryption to protect sensitive data and provide isolated storage of all board materials. This way, only authorized personnel can access board documents. - Document management
An ideal document repository allows you to keep all related documents in one place so that board members find them easily. Members can monitor changes with version control and ensure that they work with updated documents. Also, global search helps in fast access and retrieval of materials. - Collaboration tools
Some board portals offer real-time annotations, allowing members to comment directly on documents during meetings. Features like the digital board book provide easy access to all materials in one place, while secure messaging ensures confidential communications between members. - Meeting management
Board portals with automated scheduling and agenda creation tools allow organizations to seamlessly organize meetings, distribute agendas, and track action items.
Benefits of using board portals for health services
A recent Gartner reveals that 89% of organizations, including those in the healthcare sector, are adopting new technologies to improve their operations and governance.
As the demand for efficient governance solutions continues to grow, the board portal market is expected to reach over $34 billion by 2036.
Now, let’s dive into the key benefits that board portal solutions offer, helping board administrators work more effectively and securely.
More effective governance
An electronic board portal helps board administration and leadership teams maintain clear oversight and accountability.
This solution centralizes access to records and meeting agendas, and enables secure document storage, allowing board members to operate with all necessary information. This is especially important since healthcare board governance impacts the clinical treatment of patients and corporate credibility.
Performance optimization
Board operations can be time-consuming when done manually, but these processes are easier with board meeting agenda software. Rather than having loads of papers and hours of meetings, the participants can easily get the agendas, minutes, and other documents they need online.
Moreover, with the help of video conference platform integration, boards can save time joining remote and hybrid meetings.
Strengthened compliance
Board portal providers equipped these platforms with sophisticated tools to enable you to more easily comply with regulations.
For instance, they enable proper storage and organization of important policies and procedures, including informing all the board members of their respective responsibilities. Then, compliance tracking features can monitor adherence to specific regulations, such as HIPAA or HITECH.
Moreover, automatic reporting tools can generate statements of compliance with these requirements.
Choosing the right board meeting solution for your healthcare organization
Selecting the right board portal for your healthcare organization requires careful consideration of several factors to ensure it meets all your needs.
First of all, HIPAA compliance is a must. For the board portal, it is crucial to have advanced security measures to protect medical details. Therefore, consider a board portal provider that offers the following protection measures:
- Data encryption
- User authentication
- Automatic archiving of previous meeting minutes, motions, and board evaluations
- Comprehensive audit trails
Another aspect that needs to be taken into consideration is usability. The interface of the digital board solution should be simple so everyone can use it without extensive training.
Also, it’s crucial to evaluate how suitable the digital solution is for integration with existing systems. Combining with other management tools and electronic health records may reduce the workload and simplify administrative tasks. As such, opt for solutions that offer integration capabilities with the most popular tools, including:
- Corporate systems
- Customer relationship management tools
- Databases
- Email platforms
Finally, the quality of technical support is also important for a positive user experience. Therefore, select a vendor that provides responsive 24/7 customer support via phone and email in case of unexpected issues.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the comparison of the industry leaders:
| Board portal | Key features | HIPAA compliance | Best for |
| iDeals Board | Secure document sharing, e-signatures, scheduling meetings, customizable meeting workflows, audit trails | Yes | Healthcare institutions seeking secure, streamlined governance with mobile access |
| Diligent Boards | Advanced security features, remote meetings setup, real-time collaboration, role-based access controls | Yes | Large healthcare organizations with complex needs |
| BoardEffect | Document management, task tracking, audit trails, real-time notifications | Yes | Small to mid-sized healthcare organizations. |
Future trends in board management for health services
Today’s environment requires board management of health services to be responsive to changes. Let’s explore the main trends in hospital board governance below.
Trend 1: The rise of artificial intelligence in healthcare governance
There are huge prospects for AI in the health sector which is expected to grow from $11 billion in 2021 to $187 billion in 2030. Modern AI technologies are already used in many spheres, including healthcare, from diagnostics and treatment protocols to patient surveillance, administration-related tasks, and board operations.
Specifically, AI algorithms are capable of processing vast amounts of information quickly, while delivering valuable recommendations that can be incorporated into the strategic plan.
For instance, AI can assist boards with resource management, or flagging of compliance concerns. This empowers directors to improve decision-making accuracy and ensure the hospital remains safe and compliant.
Trend 2: Blockchain technology for transparent board management
A recent report by Spherical Insights & Consulting predicts notable growth of blockchain technology in the healthcare market, with its value projected to increase from $2,84 billion to $90,52 billion by 2033.
Blockchain comes with benefits focused on security, transparency, and immutability of data, which is essential in the healthcare system.
For boards, it can improve accountability in decision-making processes and simplify compliance with regulatory requirements. Additionally, boards should consider adopting blockchain technology to securely store board records and other sensitive governance documentation, reducing the risk of fraud.
Trend 3: Wearable technology impacts preventive healthcare
Wearable technology has become one of the forms of preventive care, which could save US healthcare $7 billion annually. It enables patients to monitor their health status more often using gadgets such as pulse oximeters, exercise counters, and glucose meters.
This transition towards a patient-centric approach improves health aid quality and allows hospitals to collect useful insights for optimizing patient care.
However, patient-centric care requires a corresponding shift in governance. By leveraging insights from patient behavior and outcomes, boards can more effectively oversee strategies for improving care quality, reducing readmissions, and ensuring regulatory compliance.
Key takeaways
As concerns over cybersecurity and legal complexity grow, a board portal emerges as the ideal solution for secure information storage in healthcare institutions. The key benefits of iDeals Board include:
- HIPAA compliance
- Simplified workflows
- Compliance monitoring
- Easier meeting preparation
- Agenda building
- Improved information sharing
- Automated follow-ups
- Tracking of action items
Additionally, iDeals offers round-the-clock customer support via phone and email, ensuring prompt assistance whenever needed. Its user-friendly interface and straightforward navigation make iDeals Board a seamless platform for health organizations.