My husband, son and daughter-in-law, who are all doctors, were sitting there and I asked them what the exact definitions of “critical,” “serious,” “fair,” and “good” were. Surprisingly, they didn`t know. He also disapproves of combining the word stable with real conditions, in phrases such as “critical but stable.” This is because a person in critical condition has at least some unstable vital signs. The AHA guidelines warn that “the patient has the option to explicitly state that they do not wish to disclose any information, including confirmation of their attendance at the facility. With the exception of one-word conditions, no information about the patient`s condition should be published without the patient`s permission. “It happened twice over the weekend. First, it was announced that MBTA Police Officer Richard Donohue had gone from serious to critical condition at Mount Auburn Hospital. (But doesn`t criticizing seem worse than serious?) Then, yesterday, Boston Police Chief Ed Davis said at a news conference that the surviving suspect in the marathon bombing, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, had gone from serious to critical condition, noting that “serious and critical are interchangeable.” Other terms used are serious, extremely critical, critical but stable, serious but stable, reserved[3] and satisfying. Often, doctors use a number of terms such as “critical” or “serious” as a result of the news. But it`s not always clear what these terms mean — and what they actually say about a patient`s condition. The AHA advises doctors and nurses not to use the word “stable” to describe a patient`s condition.
However, others advise against the use of this formulation because a critical condition implies that a patient`s vital signs are not stable. You will need intensive care if you have a life-threatening illness or injury, such as: Most hospitals follow American Hospital Association guidelines when describing a patient`s condition to the media. These guidelines ask hospital spokespersons to provide only one description of a patient`s condition in one word. The recommended conditions, taken from the AHA`s “General Guide for Disclosure of Patient Condition Information,” are as follows: A person in critical condition has been given a specific medical classification that should not be confused with a serious medical condition. In the medical world, the two differ in their own way and have important implications. Here`s what they are. In the media, hospital terms that describe a patient`s condition – as critical, just, serious, stable – are inherently vague. They simply give you a general idea of how someone is doing, which helps protect the patient`s privacy.
Intensive care: “Is this patient really `(un)stable`? How to describe cardiovascular dynamics in critically ill patients. Life-sustaining treatments do not necessarily mean that a patient`s condition is life-threatening. Sometimes doctors use them temporarily until the person is healthy enough to function on their own. The term “vital signs” refers to indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, temperature and breathing. One-word descriptions are not medical terms, and they are more art than science. They are based on a physician`s best judgment of a patient`s condition, as referred to hospital spokespeople. Johns Hopkins Medicine specifies the difference between the terms “critical condition” and “serious condition” in several key areas. Although a person in critical condition may be unconscious, a person in serious condition can only be identified as “critically ill”.
Similarly, a patient in critical condition may have unstable vital signs outside the normally acceptable level, while a patient in serious condition may or may not have unstable signs that may or may not be within acceptable ranges. Health status is a term used to describe the state of health of an inpatient in hospital. The term is most often used in news given to news media and is rarely used as a clinical description by doctors. The press described the health of Jessie Arbogast, the 8-year-old girl injured by a shark in Florida, as “critical but stable.” What do patient descriptions such as “critical” and “stable” mean? Although there are guidelines for categorizing a patient`s condition, very little information can be ethically published by the hospital. Sacred Heart Children`s Hospital in Pensacola, Florida, where Jessie Arbogast is being treated, does not strictly follow AHA terminology. “I try to stick to those four, but sometimes when I call to check, the doctor says `stable` or `kept,` and that`s what you get from relays,” says hospital spokesman Mike Burke. “A person`s health is a complex issue. It`s really unrealistic to describe in one word how they do it, but because of the limitations we experience, we do it.
We`ve all seen a news report about someone being rushed to the emergency room in “critical” condition. Or read a more optimistic story about someone who is “fair” in the hospital. But what do these words really mean? The use of such state terminology in the U.S. media has increased since HIPAA was passed in 1996. Concerns about patient privacy and the desire to avoid litigation related to their violation have led doctors and hospitals to use these terms as an alternative to disclosing certain medical conditions. Not all hospitals strictly adhere to AHA guidelines. After all, these are advisory directives, not regulations. George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., for example, uses its own definitions. GW defines critical condition as “an uncertain prognosis, vital signs are unstable or abnormal, there are major complications and death may be imminent.” Many hospitals use the term “treated and discharged” to describe patients who have been treated but not admitted. And the phrase “critical but stable” is widely used, although it is not recommended by the AHA.
The phrase is an attempt to communicate that some patients` conditions are more “critical” than others. Sometimes people in an intensive care unit are unable to communicate. It is important that you have an advance directive. This can help your health care providers and family members make important decisions, including end-of-life decisions when you can`t make them. The bottom line is this: when you read or see a news story that uses a word to describe a person`s condition, it`s supposed to be general and vague. If you have a loved one in the hospital and their doctor or nurse explains their condition in a word that is not clear to you, ask them to explain what they mean. Don`t feel bad if you ask. Hospitals and the media publish news about patients` condition in a seemingly structured format. The reports seem scientific. I had always assumed that there had to be a list of specific symptoms and conditions that fit each category. But the reactions of my family doctors shocked me.
What do these terms really mean? Are these recognized medical categories? Sometimes people will make a suggestion as to whether a person`s condition is stable, improving, or deteriorating. For example, a “critical but stable” condition indicates that a person is in poor condition, but is unlikely to deteriorate in the short term. You may also hear the word “critical” to describe the type of treatment a person needs. People with life-threatening illnesses or injuries require intensive care, usually in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital. While it`s common for doctors to use the word stable to describe a patient who is in good condition, not everyone thinks it`s that clear. Since there is no agreed medical definition for the word, some researchers say that one doctor`s idea of “stable” could be another doctor`s idea of “unstable.” In the UK, hospitals tend to communicate with a range of terminologies. These range from words like “critical” (usually the most worrisome state a living patient may be in) to “comfortable” or “progressing well.” Whether someone has heard the term “critical condition” in a news story, a medical drama, or in the unfortunate case of a personal experience, they may not know what it actually means. Luminis Health defines a critical condition as any patient who has unstable vital signs that may not be within normal limits or may be unconscious.
Two aspects of the patient`s condition can be reported. The first aspect is the patient`s current condition, which can be reported as “good” or “severe”, for example. Secondly, the patient`s short-term prognosis can be reported. For example, the patient gets better or worse. When no immediate change is expected, the term stable is often used as a qualifier for conditions in which a patient has stable vital signs. [1] Are they? What do they mean exactly? And couldn`t we do better for the speedy recovery of bomb victims if we understood? (Follow Massachusetts General Hospital patient terms and conditions here.) The Massachusetts Hospital Association has kindly provided the following definitions.