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• Acuity

© Rhoda Baer. Released by the National Cancer Institute

Acuity medical definition: In a medical setting, acuity is synonymous with nursing intensity or the level of care a patient requires. 

The acuity, or level of acuity, demonstrates how critical a patient’s injury or illness is. A patient in long-term, custodial care would be considered low acuity because they require less intensive care. A trauma patient, on the other hand, with multiple life-threatening injuries, would be a high acuity patient due to the intense level of care their traumas require. 

Acuity in Medical Malpractice Cases

In care settings, acuity typically parallels the potential of medical malpractice. This means that low acuity patients are typically less likely to be victims of medical malpractice and high acuity patients are typically exposed to higher medical malpractice rates. This can be explained as such: the more critical or requiring of immediate attention a medical patient’s conditions are, the more likely they are to be victims of medical malpractice due to the level of care or various operations and treatments they may need. 

Contact a Pittsburgh medical malpractice lawyer today to review your case: 800-392-4529

Sources:

• • https://www.equotemd.com/resources/glossary/

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