comorbidity
The presence of one or more additional health conditions alongside a patient's main illness.
Example: Diabetes is a common comorbidity in heart patients.
C120 words · Advanced
Healthcare vocabulary — C1
Advanced healthcare vocabulary for diagnosis and clinical standards, including comorbidity, epidemiology, a differential diagnosis and the titration and clinical governance behind patient care.
20 questions
Words in this set
20iatrogenic
Describes an illness or injury caused by medical treatment itself.
Example:
The infection was iatrogenic, caught during the surgery.
epidemiology
/ˌɛpəˌdɛmiˈɑlədʒi/The branch of medicine that studies how diseases spread and can be controlled in populations.
Example:
She studied epidemiology to track the outbreak's spread.
differential diagnosis
A list of possible conditions that could explain a patient's symptoms, before the true cause is confirmed.
Example:
The doctor's differential diagnosis included three possible conditions.
formulary
/ˈfɔrmjəˌlɛri/An approved list of medicines that doctors in a hospital or health system are allowed to prescribe.
Example:
The new drug was not yet on the hospital's formulary.
titrate
To slowly adjust the dose of a medicine until the right effect is reached.
Example:
The doctor will titrate the dosage over several weeks.
morbidity
/mɔrˈbɪdəti/Illness or the rate of disease in a population, as opposed to death.
Example:
Smoking increases morbidity from lung disease.
notifiable
Describes a disease that doctors are legally required to report to health authorities.
Example:
Measles is a notifiable disease in most countries.
polypharmacy
When a patient is taking many different medicines at the same time.
Example:
Polypharmacy in elderly patients increases the risk of drug interactions.
acuity
/əˈkjuəti/A measure of how severe or urgent a patient's condition is.
Example:
Nurses are assigned by patient acuity, with the sickest getting the most staff.
clinical pathway
A standard sequence of care for a particular condition.
Example:
The clinical pathway was rewritten after the audit.
capacity assessment
A judgement of whether a patient can decide for themselves.
Example:
A capacity assessment has to be recorded, not assumed.
adverse reaction
A harmful response to a drug or treatment.
Example:
One adverse reaction in eleven thousand doses was reported.
case-mix
The range and complexity of the patients a service treats.
Example:
Their case-mix explained most of the difference in outcomes.
clinical governance
The system for maintaining and improving quality of care.
Example:
Clinical governance meetings became the only place anything was recorded.
titration
Adjusting a dose gradually to find the right amount.
Example:
Titration took six weeks and two hospital visits.
sensitivity
/ˌsɛnsɪˈtɪvɪti/How well a test detects people who do have a condition.
Example:
High sensitivity and low specificity produced a great many false alarms.
specificity
/ˌspɛsəˈfɪsəti/How well a test correctly rules out people who do not have a condition.
Example:
Poor specificity sent forty healthy people for a biopsy.
do not resuscitate
An instruction that a patient should not be revived.
Example:
The do not resuscitate note had not been transferred with the file.
bed blocking
Patients staying in hospital because no other care is available.
Example:
Bed blocking cost more than the community places would have.
