Continuous Patient Pathway: From 1 Different Sources
the route that a patient takes through the health-care system, from first admission to a hospital or treatment centre to final discharge. This may consist of one or more *spells in particular hospitals and one or more *finished consultant episodes. For example, a patient admitted to a district general hospital, transferred to a tertiary hospital for a specialist procedure, and then transferred back to the district general hospital for recovery would experience one continuous patient pathway but three spells.
A method for treating babies who suffer from alveolar collapse in the lung as a result of HYALINE MEMBRANE DISEASE (see also RESPIRATORY DISTRESS SYNDROME).... continuous positive airways pressure
A person in contact with the health system seeking attention for a health condition.... patient
An agreed and explicit route an individual takes through health and social care services. Agreements between the various providers involved will typically cover the type of care and treatment, which professional will be involved and their level of skills, and where treatment or care will take place. See also “care plan”; “care programme”.... care pathway
A multidisciplinary set of daily prescriptions and outcome targets for managing the overall care of a specific type of patient, e.g. from pre-admission to post-discharge for patients receiving inpatient care. Clinical pathways are often intended to maintain or improve quality of care and decrease costs for patients in particular diagnosis-related groups.... clinical pathway
See TRANSFUSION.... continuous autologous transfusion
See “data”.... continuous data (variable)
A treatment protocol based on a consensus of clinicians that includes only those few vital components or items proved to affect patient outcomes, either by the omission or commission of the treatment or the timing of the intervention.... critical pathway
Any activities by a health professional involving direct interaction, treatment, administration of medications or other therapy or involvement with a patient.... direct patient care
Standardized tools to determine patient characteristics and abilities, what assistance they need and how they may be helped to improve or regain abilities. Patient assessment forms are completed using information gathered from medical records, interviews with the patient, other informants (e.g. family members) and direct observation.... patient assessment (resident)
See “care plan”.... patient care planning
See ETHICS.... patient choice
See ETHICS.... patient consent
At a personal level, the engagement of individuals in decisions about their health and about the diagnosis, treatment and after-care of their illness, injuries and other disorders. At a public level, the engagement of all members of the public in the planning, provision and performance of their health-care services. Traditionally, at both personal and public levels, the patient has generally been regarded as naturally subordinate to the politicians and managers who plan and run the health-care system(s), and to health professionals and medical institutions who provide personal health care. The public and patients are increasingly unwilling to accept this traditional model and are asserting themselves, for example through patient help groups, complaints, litigation and local political action with the aim of securing changes in how health care is organised and a much greater say in their own care.... patient empowerment
An approach to care that consciously adopts a patient’s perspective. This perspective can be characterized around dimensions such as respect for patients’ values, preferences and expressed needs; coordination and integration of care; information, communication and education; physical comfort, emotional support and alleviation of fear and anxiety; involvement of family and friends; or transition and continuity.... patient-centred care
A technique whereby a patient can deliver an analgesic substance (see ANALGESICS) in amounts related to the extent of the PAIN that he or she is suffering. For example, to combat post-operative pain, some hospitals use devices which allow patients to give themselves small intravenous amounts of opiates when they are needed. Pain is more e?ectively controlled if it is not allowed to reach a high level, a situation which tends to happen when patients receive analgesics only on ward drug rounds or when they ask the nursing sta? for them.... patient-controlled analgesia
A study, generally undertaken by an individual health programme or health planning agency to determine the geographic distribution of the residences of the patients served by one or more health programmes. Such studies help define catchment and medical trade areas and are useful in locating and planning the development of new services.... patient-origin study
The sum of all the activities which create desired change in quality. In the health care setting, quality improvement requires a feedback loop which involves the identification of patterns of the care of individuals (or of the performance of other systems involved in care), the analysis of those patterns in order to identify opportunities for improvement (or instances of departure from standards of care), and then action to improve the quality of care for future patients. An effective quality improvement system results in step-by-step increases in quality of care.... quality improvement / continuous quality improvement
an extra electrical conduction pathway between the atria and ventricles, anatomically separate from the *atrioventricular node, that predisposes to *re-entry tachycardia. The pathway conducts faster than the atrioventricular node, giving rise to pre-excitation recognized by a characteristic delta wave at the beginning of the QRS complex on the electrocardiogram in normal rhythm. The presence of this pathway, with the occurrence of intermittent tachycardias, is known as the *Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.... accessory pathway
the administration of insulin by continuous infusion into the subcutaneous tissue via a small pump worn under the clothing and connected to the skin by a tube and a fine needle. The insulin is delivered at a precalculated background rate, but patient-activated *boluses can be administered at meal times. This method is particularly appropriate (as an alternative to regular injections) for patients with repeated or unpredictable episodes of hypoglycaemia.... continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion
n. a patient who is admitted to a bed in a hospital ward and remains there for a period of time for treatment, examination, or observation. Compare out-patient.... in-patient
a multidisciplinary plan for delivering health and social care to patients with a specific condition or set of symptoms. Such plans are often used for the management of common conditions and are intended to improve patient care by reducing unnecessary deviation from best practice. See clinical governance.... integrated care pathway
(NPSA) formerly, a special health authority that led and coordinated work to improve all aspects of patient safety in England. The NPSA comprised three divisions: the National Reporting and Learning Service, the National Research Ethics Service, and the National Clinical Assessment Service. It closed in 2012, with its key functions transferred to *NHS England. In 2016 the same functions were transferred from NHS England to the newly formed *NHS Improvement.... national patient safety agency
n. a patient who receives treatment at a hospital, either at a single attendance or at a series of attendances, but is not admitted to a bed in a hospital ward. Large hospitals have *clinics at which out-patients with various complaints can be given specialist treatment. Compare in-patient.... out-patient
(PALS) (in England) a confidential service provided by each NHS trust to support patients, their families, and carers by giving advice and information in response to questions and concerns about local NHS services. See also advocacy.... patient advice and liaison service
see PHQ-9.... patient health questionnaire
(PPACA) see Affordable Care Act 2010.... patient protection and affordable care act
see optic nerve.... visual pathway
Health Encyclopedia