Differentiating Clinical Governance, Clinical Management and Clinical Practice

Purpose: This paper reviews prior
definitions of the umbrella term 'clinical governance'. The research question
is: do clinical governance definitions adequately distinguish between
governance, management and practice functions? Three definitions are introduced
to replace that umbrella term.

Design/Methodology/Approach: Content
analysis is applied to analyse twenty nine definitions of clinical governance from
the perspective of the roles and responsibilities of those charged with
governance, management and practice.

Findings: The analysis indicates that
definitions of the umbrella term 'clinical governance' comprise a mixture of activities
relating to governance, management and practice which is confusing for those
expected to execute those roles.

Practical implications: Consistent
with concepts from corporate governance, we distinguish between governance,
management and practice. For effective governance, it is important that there
be division of duties between governance roles and management and practice
roles. These distinctions will help to clarify roles and responsibilities in
the execution of clinical activities.

Originality/Value:  Drawing on insights
from corporate governance, in particular, the importance of a division of functions
between governance roles, and management and practice roles, we propose three
new definitions to replace the umbrella term 'clinical governance'.