MDs offer roadmap for implementing crisis standards of care

Crisis and contingency situations – whether shortages of equipment or health care workers being thrust into unfamiliar roles – have only grown more common over the past two years, and the COVID-19 pandemic reinforced how hospitals must be better prepared. An article in the June/July issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety highlighted how often crisis standards of care are based on unreliable assumptions, forcing health care workers to develop procedures on the fly. According to the authors, better planning can relieve logistical and emotional stress, which can improve patient outcomes considerably. (Joint Commission article, 5/19/22)