Standard of Care

“Standard of care” sounds like a medical term, but actually it is a universal legal concept. It is codified differently by individual state statutes and is written into each state's uniform jury instructions. The phrase increasingly appears in scientific articles discussing the management of pa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Headache 2008-06, Vol.48 (6), p.858-861
Main Authors: Blumenthal, Harvey J., Woodard III, John R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
headache
Headache - therapy
Humans
Liability, Legal
Malpractice - legislation & jurisprudence
medicolegal
Quality of Health Care - legislation & jurisprudence
standard of care
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Summary:“Standard of care” sounds like a medical term, but actually it is a universal legal concept. It is codified differently by individual state statutes and is written into each state's uniform jury instructions. The phrase increasingly appears in scientific articles discussing the management of patients with headache. But, the term usually is not defined nor is evidence presented to justify the notion that the so‐called standard has any scientific basis. In a courtroom, jury instructions using this phrase can be a legal sword aimed at a defendant doctor, rather than a shield. At risk is a physician's basic right to care for a patient according to that individual's particular needs.
ISSN:0017-8748
1526-4610
DOI:10.1111/j.1526-4610.2008.01171.x