Accreditation

Greeley Reflections

Accreditation Connection, December 8, 2010

Revisiting the Universal Protocol for simple, one-person procedures

 

Part 2 of 7

Looking at scope

Before 2010 the Universal Protocol (UP) applied to surgical and non-surgical invasive procedures that placed the patients at risk. Back then, we used to tie the UP with the notion of informed consent: it applied only when informed consent was required. But the 2010 version of the UP says nothing about risk. It now applies to all procedures (both invasive and non invasive). Before they were taken down from the website a few months ago, the FAQs still exempted venipuncuture, peripheral intravenous lines and similar procedures.

It now appears that these type and other simple procedures are covered under the UP. Does this mean that there needs to be a time out before a phlebotomist takes a blood sample? Not really. Let's think about this a little more before jumping in the deep end of the pool.

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