Standard Precautions vs. Universal Precautions: Key Differences Explained

Standard precautions are infection prevention and control practices that are always used in the care of all patients, regardless of their known or suspected infection status. They are designed to prevent the transmission of infections from patients to healthcare personnel and from healthcare personnel to patients.

Universal precautions are infection prevention and control practices that were originally created for use in situations when the infection status of a patient is unknown or suspected. However, with the understanding that all blood and body fluids are potentially infectious, universal precautions have been replaced by standard precautions in all patient care settings.