Use a consent agenda for an effective MEC meeting

We have been discussing effective Medical Executive Committee (MEC) meetings for the past two weeks. This week we are going to address the issue of consent agendas - a tool to help expedite the work of the MEC.

A consent agenda is a tool that can be used to save meeting time and to help assure that committee time is spent on items that require discussion. Consent agendas expedite approval of routine, non-controversial business brought before the committee. The use of a consent agenda places responsibility on committee members to prepare prior to a meeting. They also place responsibility on those responsibile for preparation of the agenda - most typically, the president of the medical staff and the medical staff professional that supports the meeting.

In order to use a consent agenda the following should occur:

1. The committee members must understand how the consent agenda will work and must agree to the use of the consent agenda.
2. Consent agenda items must be distributed to committee members in advance of the meeting - well enough in advance for committee members to review all the consent agenda items (and any back-up documentation) and to determine if discussion at the meeting is necessary.

   The types of information that may be included on a consent agenda might include the following:

   • minutes from the previous MEC meeting
   • factual reports that do not require any action
   • minor changes in policies and procedures
   • routine document updates
3. Any committee member may ask for any item listed on the consent agenda to be removed from the consent agenda and addressed separately. This can occur prior to the meeting (which is the optimal situation) or at the meeting.
4. Consent agenda items are usually addressed toward the beginning of the meeting. This allows any item removed from the consent agenda to be placed into the appropriate place on the agenda for discussion and/or action later in the meeting.

Caveats about the use of consent agendas:

1. Do not use consent agendas to "hide" actions that are controversial or to push something through without discussion. If this occurs, the committee will usually never trust the items that are listed on a consent agenda again and may ban the practice!
2. Committee members must review items in advance of the meeting.
3. Committee members need to be committed to appropriate use of committee time. Items that are placed on a consent agenda are there because there is no need to spend valuable committee time on discussion. Sometimes committee members (or those attending a meeting) have submitted written reports for information - there is no action required. However, they feel compelled to speak about the report (or worse yet - read it to the committee). The committee members need to respect the time of all present and to refrain from discussion that serves no useful purpose.
4. It is beneficial for a committee that uses a consent agenda to have some "rules" about what can and cannot be placed on a consent agenda.

The use of consent agendas can be an effective way to improve and streamline Medical Executive Committee meetings - if and when they are understood and properly implemented.