Acute care

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Acute care 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. [1] [2] In medical terms, care for acute health conditions is the opposite from chronic care, or longer-term care.

Contents

Acute care services are generally delivered by teams of health care professionals from a range of medical and surgical specialties. Acute care may require a stay in a hospital emergency department, ambulatory surgery center, urgent care centre or other short-term stay facility, along with the assistance of diagnostic services, surgery, or follow-up outpatient care in the community. [2] Hospital-based acute inpatient care typically has the goal of discharging patients as soon as they are deemed healthy and stable. [3] Acute care settings include emergency department, intensive care, coronary care, cardiology, neonatal intensive care, and many general areas where the patient could become acutely unwell and require stabilization and transfer to another higher dependency unit for further treatment.

Current issues in acute care

Australia

The 2009 "Final Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into Acute Care Services in NSW Public Hospitals", known as The Garling Report, documented a series of high-profile medical controversies in the New South Wales public hospital system, and issued over one hundred recommendations that stimulated considerable discussion and controversy. [4]

United States

A federal law known as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) "requires most hospitals to provide an examination and needed stabilizing treatment, without consideration of insurance coverage or ability to pay, when a patient presents to an emergency room for attention to an emergency medical condition." [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) is an act of the United States Congress, passed in 1986 as part of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). It requires hospital emergency departments that accept payments from Medicare to provide an appropriate medical screening examination (MSE) to anyone seeking treatment for a medical condition, regardless of citizenship, legal status, or ability to pay. Participating hospitals may not transfer or discharge patients needing emergency treatment except with the informed consent or stabilization of the patient or when their condition requires transfer to a hospital better equipped to administer the treatment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency medicine</span> Medical specialty concerned with care for patients who require immediate medical attention

Emergency medicine is the medical speciality concerned with the care of illnesses or injuries requiring immediate medical attention. Emergency physicians specialise in providing care for unscheduled and undifferentiated patients of all ages. As first-line providers, in coordination with emergency medical services, they are primarily responsible for initiating resuscitation and stabilization and performing the initial investigations and interventions necessary to diagnose and treat illnesses or injuries in the acute phase. Emergency physicians generally practise in hospital emergency departments, pre-hospital settings via emergency medical services, and intensive care units. Still, they may also work in primary care settings such as urgent care clinics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency department</span> Medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine

An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of patients who present without prior appointment; either by their own means or by that of an ambulance. The emergency department is usually found in a hospital or other primary care center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health care</span> Prevention of disease and promotion of wellbeing

Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health professionals and allied health fields. Medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, midwifery, nursing, optometry, audiology, psychology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, athletic training, and other health professions all constitute health care. It includes work done in providing primary care, secondary care, and tertiary care, as well as in public health.

A trauma center, or trauma centre, is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major traumatic injuries such as falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. A trauma center may also refer to an emergency department without the presence of specialized services to care for victims of major trauma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambulatory care</span> Medical care provided for outpatients

Ambulatory care or outpatient care is medical care provided on an outpatient basis, including diagnosis, observation, consultation, treatment, intervention, and rehabilitation services. This care can include advanced medical technology and procedures even when provided outside of hospitals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blacktown Hospital</span> Hospital in New South Wales, Australia

Blacktown Hospital is university teaching hospital in Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia, about 34 kilometres from the Sydney CBD. Together with Mount Druitt Hospital and associated community health centres, it is a part of the Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal North Shore Hospital</span> Hospital in New South Wales, Australia

The Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney, University of Technology and Australian Catholic University and has over 600 beds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency psychiatry</span> Clinical application of psychiatry in emergency settings

Emergency psychiatry is the clinical application of psychiatry in emergency settings. Conditions requiring psychiatric interventions may include attempted suicide, substance abuse, depression, psychosis, violence or other rapid changes in behavior. Psychiatric emergency services are rendered by professionals in the fields of medicine, nursing, psychology and social work. The demand for emergency psychiatric services has rapidly increased throughout the world since the 1960s, especially in urban areas. Care for patients in situations involving emergency psychiatry is complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New South Wales Ambulance</span>

NSW Ambulance, previously the Ambulance Service of NSW, is an agency of NSW Health and the statutory provider of pre-hospital emergency care and ambulance services in the state of New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intensive care unit</span> Hospital ward that provides intensive care medicine

An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensive care medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mona Vale Hospital</span> Hospital in New South Wales, Australia

Mona Vale Hospital is located in the suburb of Mona Vale, on the Northern Beaches of metropolitan Sydney, Australia. It is a public hospital managed by New South Wales Health, and part of the Northern Sydney Local Health District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jersey City Medical Center</span> Hospital in Hudson County, New Jersey

The Jersey City Medical Center is a hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey. The hospital has had different facilities in the city. It is currently located on a 15-acre campus at Grand Street and Jersey Avenue overlooking New York Harbor and Liberty State Park. The campus includes three facilities: the Wilzig Hospital, the Provident Bank Ambulatory Center, and the Christie Kerr Women's Health Center. The hospital serves as a regional referral and teaching hospital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patient dumping</span> Inappropriately releasing homeless or indigent patients

Patient dumping or homeless dumping is the practice of hospitals and emergency services inappropriately releasing homeless or indigent patients to public hospitals or on the streets instead of placing them with a homeless shelter or retaining them, especially when they may require expensive medical care with minimal government reimbursement from Medicaid or Medicare. The term homeless dumping has been used since the late 19th century and resurfaced throughout the 20th century alongside legislation and policy changes aimed at addressing the issue. Studies of the issue have indicated mixed results from the United States' policy interventions and have proposed varying ideas to remedy the problem.

Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System(SRHS) is one of South Carolina's largest healthcare systems. SRHS draws patients primarily from the areas of Spartanburg, Cherokee, Union, and Greenville counties, located in the Piedmont region of South Carolina, and Rutherford and Polk counties, located in western North Carolina. Spartanburg General Hospital was organized under the authority of the South Carolina General Assembly in 1917 and officially became the Spartanburg Regional Health Services District, Inc., a political subdivision of the State of South Carolina, by the charter granted by the secretary of state of South Carolina on May 1, 1995. 

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hospital</span> Health care facility with specialized staff and equipment

A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergency department to treat urgent health problems ranging from fire and accident victims to a sudden illness. A district hospital typically is the major health care facility in its region, with many beds for intensive care and additional beds for patients who need long-term care. Specialized hospitals include trauma centers, rehabilitation hospitals, children's hospitals, seniors' (geriatric) hospitals, and hospitals for dealing with specific medical needs such as psychiatric treatment and certain disease categories. Specialized hospitals can help reduce health care costs compared to general hospitals. Hospitals are classified as general, specialty, or government depending on the sources of income received.

The Garling Report is a 2008 report prepared by the office of the Australian Commissioner Peter Garling, SC following a series of high-profile medical mishaps in the New South Wales public hospital system. For the duration of the commission, it was well covered by mass media. Its final 139 recommendations stimulated considerable discussion and controversy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Health Campus</span> Hospital in Alberta, Canada

South Health Campus (SHC) is a large hospital in Calgary, in Alberta, Canada. It is administered by Alberta Health Services.

Belmont Hospital is an acute care public hospital servicing the City of Lake Macquarie in New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1968, it is the only public hospital in the Local Government Area and is located on Croudace Bay Road in the suburb of Belmont. The hospital is operated by the Hunter New England Local Health District. The hospital underwent a major $31.5 million redevelopment between 2003 and 2007 allowing it to expand the range of specialist services available.

The Bureau of Health Information (BHI) is a board-governed organisation that publishes independent reports about the performance of the public healthcare system in New South Wales, Australia.

References

  1. "News You Can Use: Health Care Glossary". ABC News . October 13, 2006. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Alberta Health Services. Acute care. Accessed 3 August 2011.
  3. Canadian Institute for Health Information. Acute care. Archived 2011-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 3 August 2011.
  4. Garling, Peter. Final Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into Acute Care Services in NSW Public Hospitals, November 2008. Accessed 3 August 2011.
  5. "EMTALA.COM - Resources and information". www.emtala.com.