title: Standards and practice guidelines as the foundation for clinical practice.
abstract: The structure and organization of health care delivery are in the midst of rapid change. Health care providers from a variety of disciplines are being challenged to define their practice and the expected patient outcomes resulting from their processes of care delivery. Standards and clinical practice guidelines are important tools for enhancing the quality of health care delivery and for documenting care. The article describes a process for developing standards and clinical practice guidelines and presents an organizational scheme for them. Based on recommendations from diverse national groups, a format for practice guidelines is presented, and a system for implementation and ongoing evaluation is recommended.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Nursing, University of Rochester School of Nursing, University of Rochester Medical Center, New York, USA.
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Yoos
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Malone
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McMullen
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rideout
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schultz
mesh_terms: D000575:American Nurses' Association; D006801:Humans; D009518:New York; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000592:standards*; D010371:Pediatric Nursing / Q000592:standards; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D016730:Program Development; D014481:United States