Published best safety practices versus alternate approaches
Whenever organizations like the ECRI Institute, the American National Standards Institute, and The Joint Commission provide consultative advice that could be described as a best practice, organizations that choose to adopt some other guidance will need to demonstrate that the alternative strategy they’ve adopted is equivalent from a risk management perspective to the original best practice.
And yes, this alternative approach would require some form of documentation.
As an example of that logic train, please check out The Joint Commission’s FAQ dealing with the management of eyewash stations.
You can see how adopting approaches that can be interpreted as being less comprehensive compared to other publicized strategies could lead to a fair amount of scrutiny.
About the Author: Steve MacArthur is a consultant for The Greeley Company, a division of HCPro. He brings 30 years of healthcare management and consulting experience to his work with hospitals, physician offices, and ambulatory care facilities across the country. He is the author of HCPro's Hospital Safety Director's Handbook and is contributing editor for Briefings on Hospital Safety. Contact Steve at 
