By Ali Morin, MSN, RN, NI-BC, Chief Nursing Informatics Officer, symplr
LinkedIn: Allison Morin, MSN, RN, NI-BC
LinkedIn: symplr
As healthcare undergoes what many deem a digital revolution, it’s clear that technological advances alone aren’t enough to drive meaningful change. Success hinges upon how well organizations integrate these new tools into their operations—and more importantly, how they ensure that the voices of frontline workers are heard. Enter the idea of shared governance, where involving the bedside staff in the decision-making process around policies, procedures, and technology helps with staff retention and empowers them with more control over their environment.
What is Shared Governance?
Shared governance is a leadership model in which clinical staff, administrative teams, and healthcare executives all work together to shape internal policies, operations, and technology adoption. Endorsed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), this model is central to organizations on their Magnet Recognition journey, which provides a roadmap for nursing leaders to align their goals to improve an organization’s patient outcomes. Shared governance not only promotes collaboration but also plays a critical role in making sure clinical staff can help shape policies and influence technological decisions that impact their day-to-day environment.
This approach is particularly powerful during digital transformation efforts, where real-world insights from those on the front lines can prevent a lack of alignment on desired outcomes from technology and ensure that new technologies meet practical clinical needs. According to symplr’s 2024 Compass Survey, 85% of clinicians lose more than an hour each day to administrative tasks, significantly reducing time spent on patient care. This time, if saved through better technology and collaborative decision-making, could be redirected to patient care. Involving bedside staff in the selection and integration of digital tools can help reduce inefficiencies and ensure that the technologies serve clinical needs effectively. This level of involvement also helps staff feel valued and heard.
Without shared governance, there’s a risk of deploying tools that add to inefficiencies rather than solving them. As healthcare systems consider new care models for nursing, like virtual nursing, telehealth, and programs such as hospital at home, the technologies involved have evolved significantly compared to 20 years ago. So, implementing new technology effectively requires a united effort. Tools like electronic health records (EHRs), AI-powered analytics, and telemedicine platforms offer immense promise, but their success largely depends on collaboration to align departments and ensure that digital tools support—not complicate—day-to-day workflows. Frontline clinicians know better than anyone how certain processes work in practice, and their input can help avoid bottlenecks when integrating new technology. When leadership teams engage with clinical and IT staff during digital transformation initiatives, it ensures that the selected technology meets the needs of both providers and patients.
The Cost of Automating Dysfunctional Systems
One of the greatest risks in healthcare’s digital transformation is the temptation to automate existing systems that are already inefficient. Take, for example, a scheduling system that doesn’t effectively meet patient and staff needs. Simply automating that system without reviewing workflows for optimization by leveraging a new technology will only worsen the problem and cause more frustration and operational setbacks. In fact, symplr’s Compass Survey shows that many organizations are still struggling with fragmented solutions: 40% of IT leaders report that their healthcare systems have at least 150 different solutions in place. This is where shared governance plays a critical role by helping organizations ensure that processes are carefully examined and optimized before being automated.
Healthcare leaders must adopt a “process-first, technology-second” approach. By leveraging shared governance, they can audit current workflows, identify inefficiencies, and involve frontline staff in crafting solutions. Once a process is streamlined and optimized, technology can then be deployed to enhance its effectiveness, rather than perpetuate dysfunction.
The Path to a Digitally Enabled Future
Shared governance isn’t just about improving processes—it’s about empowering healthcare teams to work together to embrace change and produce systems that support better outcomes. The Compass Survey found that 72% of clinicians believe they should have more influence in software purchasing decisions, yet only 57% feel that their hospital’s operations software enables them to provide the best possible care. Leaders who engage in shared governance strengthen the collective voice of their teams. For technology to make a meaningful impact, leadership needs input from all levels—clinical, administrative, and operational—to ensure that technology implementation is aligned with the true needs of the organization. This results in smoother rollouts, higher user adoption, and ultimately, better patient care.
The future of healthcare is digital, but it will only be successful when technology is implemented with the collaboration, insight, and expertise of those on the front lines. Shared governance creates the foundation for that success.