Medical Standards of Practice

The standards of medical practice are supposed to guide medical professionals. Medical practice standards are drawn from the customs and accepted behavior of current members of the profession.

Types

• Dentists have a set of medical standards of practice different from other professionals such as nurses or pediatricians.

  According to MedMalRx, there are medical standards of practice for nearly every sector of the medical profession. Separate standards of practice exist for areas including anesthesia, chiropractic, critical care, dentistry, dermatology, hematology, hospital medicine, immunology/infectious disease, neurology, nurse practitioner, oncology, pathology, pediatrics, plastic surgery, surgery, radiology and urology.

Joint Commission Standards

• The Joint Commission is considered the highest standard for quality and safety in the heath care industry. A health care organization that meets the standards of care can be accredited. Accreditation is voluntary, but it qualifies the organization on a nationally recognized level. A Joint Commission-accredited organization receives the additional benefit of being exempt from Medicare surveys.

Significance

• Medical standards of practice are especially significant in malpractice lawsuits. To win a medical malpractice suit, a patient must prove the health care professional went against standards of practice and that no other reasonable professional would have acted the same way.