Efforts to Reduce Code Conflicts in Healthcare

Hospitals are subject to multiple regulations, codes, and standards that can clash or directly conflict, but efforts are under way to reduce such conflicts, reports an article in the January-February 2015 NFPA Journal. Code conflicts stem from a variety of causes. A jurisdiction may adopt or make compulsory codes that have conflicting provisions. This may happen when codes that focus on different things—such as building design and construction versus life safety—have provisions that overlap yet are developed separately. Even codes issued by the same organization may overlap in some respects, as they may be issued by different committees. In addition, states may adopt older versions of codes or may not update the requirement when a newer version of a required code is released. Outdated codes may not be based on the most up-to-date science, technology, and understanding of the topic.