Acute Care
Acute Care
Acute Care (pronounced: ah-kyoot kehr) is a branch of secondary health care where a patient receives active but short-term treatment for a severe injury or episode of illness, an urgent medical condition, or during recovery from surgery.
Etymology
The term "acute" comes from the Latin word "acutus", meaning sharp or severe. "Care" is derived from the Old English "carian", meaning to worry or to provide for.
Definition
In medical terminology, acute care is a level of health care in which a patient is treated for a brief but severe episode of illness, for the effects of an accident or other trauma, or during recovery from surgery. Acute care medical functions are usually performed in hospitals, on an urgent or emergency basis.
Related Terms
- Emergency Care: Immediate care or treatment given to someone suffering from an acute illness or injury.
- Intensive Care Unit (ICU): A department of a hospital where critically ill patients are housed for treatment by a multidisciplinary team of medical professionals.
- Surgery: The branch of medicine that employs operations in the treatment of disease or injury.
- Primary Care: Health care provided by a medical professional with whom a patient has initial contact and by whom the patient may be referred to a specialist.
- Secondary Care: Health care services provided by medical specialists who generally do not have first contact with patients, for example, cardiologists, urologists and dermatologists.
- Tertiary Care: Specialized consultative health care, usually for inpatients and on referral from a primary or secondary health professional, in a facility that has personnel and facilities for advanced medical investigation and treatment.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Acute Care
- Wikipedia's article - Acute Care
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