Question

An established set of clinical decisions and actions taken by clinicians and other representatives of healthcare organizations in accordance with state and federal laws, regulations, and guidelines is called standard of care. Defend this practice and why it is critical to quality care and patient safety.

Answer 1

Standard of Care and it's importance in quality care

Standard of Care can be defined as an established set of clinical actions and decisions by clinicians, other health care professionals and health care organizations in accordance with Federal and State laws , guidelines and regulations. It is a duty of care determined by the given set of circumstances related to patient , his condition, the time or place etc. Standard of care is depend on the person, place and time. Basically Standard of care is the Best way of treatment that most physician can agree.

Standard of Care is an important aspect for patient safety and quality care. It is the care provided by an individual's doctor or health care providers  in compliance with what other doctors or Health care providers in the speciality do for their patients . It can determined by the the local or national regulations or medical education. When enquiring  Medical malpractices, Court may seek the opinion of Medical experts about the Standard of care or current professional standards of the speciality area. For example , a woman , who have a family history of Breast cancer , should undergo regular mammogram tests to reveal any chance of risk . If a Doctor fails to collect the family history of the woman and not ordered for mammogram, even after the woman presented with certain related complaints, is guilty of missed diagnosis as he didn't follow the Standard of Care.

For ensuring the quality care and safety of the patient , clinician must follow the Standards of Care and documentation of the same. Most of the countries or States are having a set of clinical practice guidelines , which are created by the experts , and are agreed by most of the  doctors  in the medical field. If a case is presented before th Court against a Doctor , Attorneys can present the current clinical practice guidelines as a standard of care . If the Doctor followed it without ommision of duty, then he will not be punished legally or professionally.

Many Doctors fall short due to the non adherence to the Standards of Care and caught guilty of crime by the legal authorities. For  protecting the patient's life and health and to increase the confidence of public in Health care sector , the clinicians have to follow the Standards of Care. The famous case of Conner V Offreneo in1980 in Chicago , was an example and warning for Physicians. Mr. Offreneo was failed to diagnose the condition of a girl , who suffered with symptoms of Diabetic Ketoacidosis ( DKA ) , as well as he didn't collect her past history or allergic history. He send her along with her mother and instructed to come back after three days to obtain the results. After two days   the mother took her to another hospital due to her worsend condition, and the doctor diagnosed it as Severe DKA with a glucose level of 1126 , which is 10 times more than the normal level and the girl died due to cardiorespiratory arrest and irreversible brain damage. The mother filed the case against Mr. Offreneo ( the first Doctor) for medical malpractice . Even though, the after many years of legal battle court freed Mr. Offreneo from the case , this incident became famous and all over the world , Doctors are forced to follow certain Standards of Care, for protecting patient's safety, ensuring quality care and Doctor's protection.