| intensive care | Advanced and highly specialised care provided to medical or surgical patients whose conditions are life-threatening and require comprehensive care and constant monitoring. It is usually administered in specially equipped units of a health care facility. (12 Dec 1998) |
|---|---|
| intensive care, neonatal | Continuous care and monitoring of newborn infants with life-threatening conditions, in any setting. (12 Dec 1998) |
| intensive care unit | A hospital facility for provision of intensive nursing and medical care of critically ill patients, characterised by high quality and quantity of continuous nursing and medical supervision and by use of sophisticated monitoring and resuscitative equipment; may be organised for the care of specific patient groups, e.g., neonatal or newborn ICU, neurological ICU, pulmonary ICU. Synonym: critical care unit. (05 Mar 2000) |
| intensive care units | Hospital units providing continuous surveillance and care to acutely ill patients. (12 Dec 1998) |
| intensive care units, neonatal | Hospital units providing continuing surveillance and care to acutely ill newborn infants. (12 Dec 1998) |
| intensive care units, paediatric | Hospital units providing continuous surveillance and care to acutely ill infants and children. Neonates are excluded since intensive care units, neonatal is available. (12 Dec 1998) |
| intermediate care facilities | Institutions which provide health-related care and services to individuals who do not require the degree of care which hospitals or skilled nursing facilities provide, but because of their physical or mental condition require care and services above the level of room and board. (12 Dec 1998) |
| intraoperative care | Patient care procedures performed during the operation that are ancillary to the actual surgery. It includes monitoring, fluid therapy, medication, transfusion, anaesthesia, radiography, and laboratory tests. (12 Dec 1998) |
| terminal care | Medical and nursing care of patients in the terminal stage of an illness. (12 Dec 1998) |
| tertiary medical care | Specialised consultative care, usually on referral from primary or secondary medical care personnel, by specialists working in a centre that has personnel and facilities for special investigation and treatment. (05 Mar 2000) |
| episode of care | An interval of care by a health care facility or provider for a specific medical problem or condition. It may be continuous or it may consist of a series of intervals marked by one or more brief separations from care, and can also identify the sequence of care (e.g., emergency, inpatient, outpatient), thus serving as one measure of health care provided. (12 Dec 1998) |
| uncompensated care | Medical services for which no payment is received. Uncompensated care includes charity care and bad debts. (12 Dec 1998) |
| foster home care | Private families who care for neglected children or patients unable to care for themselves. (12 Dec 1998) |
| life support care | Care provided patients requiring extraordinary therapeutic measures in order to sustain and prolong life. (12 Dec 1998) |
| long-term care | Care over an extended period, usually for a chronic condition or disability, requiring periodic, intermittent, or continuous care. (12 Dec 1998) |