In fact, the quality is almost always seen to improve more with the application of a set of guidelines. A Policy is also a set of actions that SHOULD be followed. Policies and Guidelines. Because guidelines merely serve as a guide, one cannot be accused to violate such if he or she was not following them. It also means planned decisions wherein an individual facing difficult situations, s/he must base his/her decisions according to the set policy. There are difference between the two. On the contrary, policies are more compulsory than guidelines. Since policy is to be followed strictly, there are punishments to those who try to violate any of the policies imposed. Download. Differences between Policies and Procedures. Deviations from a guideline do not constitute a violation of hospital policy expectations if they are justified by valid clinical or operational considerations. 2. It’s a collection of procedures that must be implemented in order and logically. Provide flexibility for unforeseen circumstances. • Policies can be modified by the management, but procedures remain in force and are to be followed in Toto. November 22, ... Policy: A course or principle of action adopted or proposed by an organization or individual (Wikipedia elaborates this further saying that: A policy is a deliberate system of principles to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. You often hear expressions that some individuals have not followed the policies and therefore violated them. Policies … Differences between policy and procedure • Policies guide top management in decision making, while procedures guide employees into action. However, policies must not be construed as completely similar to rules or laws because the latter limits certain behaviors (a characteristic obviously not present in policies). Every policy contains reasons and values as to why they are made and what they are for. and updated on December 27, 2009, Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects, Difference Between Positive and Normative Economics, Difference Between Social Norm and Social Role, The Difference Between Connectivism and Constructivism, Difference between Moderna and Pfizer Vaccine, Difference Between GDPR and Privacy Shield, Difference Between Vitamin D and Vitamin D3, Difference Between LCD and LED Televisions, Difference Between Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, Difference Between Civil War and Revolution. Policy is a guide for thinking and action, whereas a procedure is a guide for action and performance to achieve the organization’s objectives, i.e., it shows the method of doing the task. If one does not follow the policies, he or she is said to have violated them whereas if one fails to follow a set of guidelines he or she is not really violating them. In addition, it can be heard , that policies are the ones that can be violated by the people. The execution of policies is compulsory to those who are involved with it like an employer’s policy to its employees. Without guidelines and policies, there would be chaos in our world today since there would be no standard in doing things. With this, it is safe to denote that guidelines are never compulsory compared to protocols or policies. Others thought that they are interchangeable words that have the same meaning where in fact these two words are both course of action but only differs in its usage and application. Difference Between Apprehension and Comprehension, Difference Between Arguing and Discussing, Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms, Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza, Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19, Difference Between Motorola Atrix 2 and Galaxy S2 (Galaxy S II), Difference Between Invoice and Purchase Order, Difference Between Tonofibrils and Tonofilaments, Difference Between Isoelectronic and Isosteres, Difference Between Interstitial and Appositional Growth, Difference Between Methylacetylene and Acetylene, Difference Between Nicotinamide and Nicotinamide Riboside.