Standards of care
A standard is a statement describing an expected level of care or performance. Standards delineate the role played by a practitioner in a facility and describe a lev¬el of care or performance common to advanced spe¬cialty practice by which the quality of practice perfor¬mance can be judged. Professional associations, specific professional groups, and government or regu¬latory agencies usually develop standards of care. For example, the Board of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses has established standards of care that can be used equally by patients, families, employ¬ers, facilities, the public, and regulatory and legislative bodies.