standard of care

standard of care,

a written statement describing the rules, actions, or conditions that direct patient care. Standards of care guide practice and can be used to evaluate performance.

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standard,

n that which is established by authority, custom, or general acceptance as a model; criterion.

standard deviation (SD),

n a computed measure of the dispersion or variability of a distribution of scores around a given point or line. It measures the way an individual score deviates from the most representative score (mean). A small SD indicates little individual deviation or a homogeneous group, and a large SD indicates much individual deviation or a heterogeneous group.

standard error,

n a measure or estimate of the sampling errors affecting a statistic; a measure of the amount the statistic may be expected to differ by chance from the true value of the statistic.

standard error of estimate,

n the standard deviation of the differences between the actual values of the dependent variables (results) and the predicted values. This statistic is associated with regression analysis.

standard error of the mean,

n an estimate of the amount that an obtained mean may be expected to differ by chance from the true mean.

standard of care,

n a written statement describing the rules, actions, and conditions that direct patient care. Standards of care guide practice and may be used to evaluate performance. Also referred to during the practice of dentistry when discussing quality of care.

standard operating procedure (SOP),

n a method of functioning that has been established over time in order to execute a specific task or react to a specific set of circumstances.

standard orders,

n.pl the rules, policies, procedures, regulations, and orders for the conduct of patient care in various stipulated clinical situations.

standard precautions,

n a set of procedures designed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to prevent the spread of known and unknown sources of infections. It formerly was called
universal precautions and applies to blood; body fluids, excretions, and secretions of the skin; and oral mucosa.

standard score,

n a derived score indicating the degree of deviation of an individual score from the mean using the standard deviation as the unit of measure.

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standard of care

Forensic medicine '…a normative standard of effective medical treatment, whether or not it is provided to a particular community.'; the SOC corresponds to a level of competence in performing medical tasks accepted as reasonable, and reflective of a skilled and diligent health care provider. See Ethics, Malpractice, Practice guidelines. Cf Reasonable person standards.

Standard of care

Academic SOC Every possible diagnosis would be ruled in or out simultaneously, often through use of parallel testing

Economic SOC Costs of diagnostic or therapeutic interventions are a major consideration

Idealized SOC Physician would have unlimited time to spend with a Pt to establish a warm personal relationship and unlimited resources to carry out a diagnosis and therapy

Managed care SOC A type of economic SOC, in which minimizing the cost of each Pt ↑ profits; here, a Pt is reduced to a 'unit' on which profit is made, or monies lost

Medicolegal SOC All hinges on limiting exposure to medical liability

Personal SOC The individual physician draws from his/her education, training, and experience, and incorporates an ethical and humanistic code of professional conduct to do what is best for the Pt JAMA 1996; 275:1296

Practical SOC The level of care that can be provided by the resources at hand, or based on the access–not economic