Study Reviews Hospital Policies Governing the Use of Verbal Orders

Hospital policies regarding how verbal orders are given and received should be carefully reviewed and updated to ensure that they are internally consistent and optimize patient safety, concludes a study published in the January 2012 Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. The study involved 40 facilities, including acute care community hospitals in Iowa and Missouri and academic medical centers throughout the United States. The researchers found substantial differences across acute care settings in terms of who is authorized to give (including nonlicensed personnel) and take verbal orders and in terms of the time allowed for prescribers to cosign orders.