Question

Can you explain a standard of care that you believe needs to be updated?

Answer 1

The “medical standard of care” is typically defined as the level and type of care that a reasonably competent and skilled health care professional, with a similar background and in the same medical community, would have provided under the circumstances that led to the alleged malpractice.

A standard of care can also refer to informal or formal guidelines that are generally accepted in the medical community for treatment of a disease or condition. It may be developed by a specialist society or organization and the title of standard of care awarded at their own discretion. It can be a clinical practice guideline, a formal diagnostic and treatment process a doctor will follow for a patient with a certain set of symptoms or a specific illness. That standard will follow guidelines and protocols that experts would agree with as most appropriate, also called "best practice." Standards of care are developed in a number of ways: Sometimes they are simply developed over time, and in other cases, they are the result of clinical trial findings.

Being ready for change is a necessary, but not sufficient, prerequisite to changing your organization's approach to fall prevention. Even when a health care organization is armed with the best evidence-based information, willing staff members, and good intentions, the implementation of new clinical and operational practices still requires additional careful organizational planning. Once you have established organizational readiness, the next practice change step is completing a thoughtful assessment of your organization's current practices and knowledge about fall prevention.