General documentation guidelines apply to:

General documentation guidelines apply to all categories of health records, including both electronic and paper-based formats. This is because these guidelines are designed to ensure that all health records provide consistent, accurate, and comprehensive information regardless of their medium.

The overarching purpose of these guidelines is to promote effective communication among healthcare providers, support patient safety, and maintain compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. This widespread applicability helps to ensure that health information is accurate, accessible, and usable, which is crucial for effective patient care and continuity of services.

Since the other choices limit the applicability of the guidelines to specific types of records, they do not encompass the breadth of practices that must be followed across the entire spectrum of health documentation. This emphasizes the importance of uniformity and comprehensiveness in healthcare documentation practices.