Reviews and Notes: Healthcare Standards 1996

Plymouth Meeting, PA: ECRI; 1996. $280.00. ISBN 0-941417-44-1. Order phone 610-825-6000.

An exhaustive guide to governmental and nongovernmental standards for clinical care, institutional management, personnel issues, and other aspects of health care systems and organizations. The book's main section is a compilation of standards, identified by issuing body and title, arranged under alphabetically sequenced keywords such as “chancroid,” “chest x-rays,” and “child abuse.” The keywords are listed as an index in the opening section of the book. Another section is a alphabetic directory of the issuing organizations; entries give each organization's address and telephone number and the titles of its standards, grouped by types, such as “criteria,” “guidelines,” “protocol,” and “statements.” Two other sections are directories of federal and state laws, legislation, and regulations. This directory appears to be unique and is issued annually.

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