Integrating Value Analysis into Healthcare Leadership: A Governance Mechanism for Organizational Decision-Making

Within healthcare systems, leaders increasingly face governance challenges when making complex resource allocation decisions. This conceptual paper reconceptualizes value analysis as a governance mechanism integrated into leadership decision-making. While value analysis traditionally evaluates products and services, it is often treated as a structural component rather than as a governance mechanism embedded within leadership structures. As a result, its role in shaping decision authority and accountability may remain underexamined. Using a conceptual approach informed by governance and leadership perspectives, this paper examines how decision authority, accountability, and cross-functional coordination shape the role and effectiveness of value analysis within organizational decision processes. It suggests that without formal integration into leadership governance, value analysis may function as an advisory exercise rather than an authoritative component of decision-making. The analysis identifies four governance functions through which value analysis may strengthen hospital decision-making: the structuring of decision authority through defined evaluation and approval pathways; the strengthening of accountability through standardized criteria and documentation; the facilitation of cross-functional coordination among clinical, operational, and financial stakeholders; and risk mitigation through structured evaluation prior to major organizational commitments. The effectiveness of value analysis may depend not solely on the presence of review procedures but on how governance design integrates these structural elements into leadership systems. By framing value analysis within leadership governance, this paper clarifies the conditions under which it may become an authoritative element of organizational decision-making rather than merely a technical assessment process. This perspective highlights the importance of leadership engagement and governance design in supporting transparency, consistency, and defensibility in resource allocation decisions.