This means that the patient`s vital functions are stable and within normal limits. They are conscious, although they may feel uncomfortable. And the doctor expects them to have a favorable (promising) result. 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. How can Jessie Arbogast`s condition be “critical but stable”? Good: Vital signs are stable and within normal limits. The patient is conscious and comfortable. The indicators are excellent. The AHA General Guide adds: “`Stable` should not be used as a condition.
In addition, this term should not be used in combination with other conditions that, by definition, often indicate that a patient is unstable. (As one hospital spokesperson put it, “You can be dead and stable.”) Intensive care: “Is this patient really `(un)stable`? How to describe cardiovascular dynamics in critically ill patients. 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. 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) Do you have a wise way of remembering this rule? Any advice to avoid a stable condition error? Share it with us! The American Hospital Association has advised doctors not to use the word “stable” as a condition or in conjunction with any other medical condition, especially critically, as it inherently involves the unpredictability and instability of vital signs. [2] Nevertheless, “critical but stable” conditions are frequently reported, likely because the word “critical” is often used in common usage to refer to a serious and immediately life-threatening condition. 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? 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 AHA advises doctors and nurses not to use the word “stable” to describe a patient`s condition. 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. Most hospitals follow the American Hospital Association`s 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: Authorities say Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a U.S. Army psychiatrist, killed 13 people and wounded 30 at Fort Hood yesterday before plainclothes police shot him four times. An army spokesman said Hasan was in “stable” condition, while some of the victims were classified as “critical.” But what does that mean? In July 2001, the explainer investigated vague medical conditions after an 8-year-old boy was deemed “critical but stable” after a shark attack. 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.” 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. 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. 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. Other terms used are serious, extremely critical, critical but stable, serious but stable, reserved[3] and satisfying. Instead, many hospitals only use the term “stable” to describe when a person`s vital signs are stable or don`t change much. The person`s vital signs are unstable and outside their normal limits.
You may be unconscious. The doctor expects the result to be poor, or he cannot predict how the person will fare. A person`s vital signs may be unstable (unstable) and may not be within their normal limits. They are very sick. The doctor cannot predict how the patient will feel. We`ve all seen a news story 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. Definitions vary from hospital to hospital, and it is even possible for a patient to be upgraded or downgraded simply by moving from one location to another without any change in actual fitness. In addition, medicine is a highly complex discipline that deals with complex and often overlapping threats to life and well-being. In the case of a life-threatening disease, a patient may be treated by a dozen or more specialists, each with their medical specialty. It is to be expected that there will be a number of opinions about the immediate condition of this patient. [4] Some hospitals use a standard set of one-word terms developed by the American Hospital Association (AHA) to describe a patient`s condition to the press: Sacred Heart Children`s Hospital in Pensacola, Florida, where Jessie Arbogast is 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. A wide range of terms can be used to describe a patient`s condition in the United States. The American Hospital Association advises physicians to use the following single-word terms to describe a patient`s condition to investigators, including the media. [2] In your personal life, a doctor or nurse at a hospital might use similar terms to tell you how an injured or sick loved one is doing. The amount of detail they enter depends on things like your relationship with the person and the urgency of the situation. English vocabulary tips and definitions with Gymglish. Improve your English and try our online English courses for free. Indeterminate: The patient is waiting for a physician and an evaluation. Brigham & Women`s Hospital: “Sharing Information with the Media.” American Hospital Association: “Guidelines for Releasing Information About the Condition of Patients.” If they need treatments to help them stay alive (called life support), they can also bring them to the intensive care unit. Some types of life support are: Each National Health Service (NHS) Trust has its own guidelines for making statements to the press. The Ministry of Health`s Code of Conduct does not contain official definitions of the standard phrases used.
Terms typically used by NHS trusts include:[5][6] The BMJ: “Ban a word at Christmas and an old newspaper please.” But not all hospitals define these terms in exactly the same way. The disclosure of patient information to the press is strictly controlled in the NHS. The Department of Health publishes a policy for NHS Trusts. [7] In general, no information may be disclosed without the patient`s consent, except in exceptional circumstances.