Critical Care Questions
What is critical care?
Critical care is the multiprofessional healthcare specialty that cares for patients with acute, life-threatening illness or injury. Nearly 80 percent of all Americans will experience a critical illness or injury, either as the patient, family member or friend of a patient.
Critical care can be provided wherever life is threatened—at the scene of an accident, in an 
ambulance or medivac helicopter, in a hospital trauma center or emergency room, or in the operating room. Most critical care today, however, is delivered in highly specialized intensive care units and trauma centers.
Critical care is provided by multiprofessional teams of highly experienced and professional physicians, nurses, respiratory care technicians, pharmacists and other allied health professionals who use their unique expertise, ability to interpret important therapeutic information, access to highly sophisticated equipment, and the services of support personnel to provide care that leads to the best outcome for the patient.
Patients are rarely admitted directly to the critical care unit. Rather, they are usually admitted from the emergency department, trauma center or surgical area where they are first given care and stabilized. The continuum of critical care begins at the moment of illness or injury and continues throughout the patient's hospitalization, treatment and subsequent recovery.
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What kinds of illness and injury usually require critical care?
Typical examples of critical illness include heart attack, poisoning, pneumonia, surgical complications, premature birth and stroke. Critical care also includes trauma care—care of the severely injured—whether due to an automobile accident, gunshot or stabbing wounds, a fall, burns or an industrial accident.
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What is the difference between critical care and emergency medicine?
Critical care refers exclusively to the treatment of patients who suffer from life-threatening conditions. Emergency department physicians and nurses treat patients who suffer from relatively minor emergencies (sprained ankles, broken arms) to those with major problems including heart attack, knife or gunshot wounds, or drug overdoses. In the emergency department, physicians and nurses stabilize patients and transport them to the intensive care unit or other area of the hospital for further treatment. The long-term management of critically ill and injured patients is provided by critical care professionals, often in the intensive care unit.
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What is an intensivist?
An intensivist is a physician with subspecialty training, or equivalent qualifications, in critical care. 
An intensivist directs the care of critically ill and injured patients and works in collaboration with other healthcare professionals necessary for the care of patients in critical care units.
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How does my family physician fit into the team?
Your family physician is an important link between the critical care team and the patient and family. The family physician has a complete medical history of the patient, is often a trusted confidante of the family and may be aware of the patient's values, attitudes and healthcare preferences. Critical care teams often work closely with the family physician to determine pre-existing illness, allergies, use of medications and other factors which may influence the health of the patient.
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What resources are available when facing end-of-life decisions?
The Society provides resources that are relevant to end-of-life decisions to assist critical care providers, patients and their families during these difficult situations. We encourage you to ensure that your own wishes are adequately documented in the advent that you are not able to personally direct your own care.
For more information and current product offerings, please go to LearnICU.org.
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How can I obtain copies of living wills and other documents?
Your local hospital and personal physician is likely to have advance directives, living wills and other documents available. A national organization, Choice in Dying, can also provide you with the forms. They may be contacted at +1 800 989-WILL.
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What is telemedicine?
Telemedicine or sometimes called Tele-ICU is remote examination of patients or patient information using electronic communications systems. Telemedicine links doctors to patients, doctors to doctors, doctors to bedside caregivers, and doctors to medical information. Telemedicine will not replace your doctor at the bedside but will supplement his or her capability to provide comprehensive care. It is a service that provides an added layer of patient safety and intervention management to supplement the care being provided in hospitals.
Telemedicine improves healthcare by allowing:
- Doctors to electronically visit patients for rapid evaluation and initiation of therapy, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
- Local, national or international medical specialists to provide consultation on complicated patients
- Rapid medical response during public health emergencies or local disasters
Many Different Types of Telemedicine
Telemedicine may be as simple as using the telephone. Typically, telemedicine implies more sophisticated means to transmit information, including:
- Electronic (computer) transmission of radiographs
- Electronic access to medical laboratory results
- Remote viewing of vital signs
- Remote viewing of life support equipment
- Audio and/or video communication with patients and staff
- Bedside cameras to examine patients remotely
Process of Providing Telemedicine
- Your radiographs may be transmitted to radiologists located outside the hospital for interpretation.
- Your physician may routinely examine laboratory data from computers located outside the hospital.
- Cameras mounted on walls, carts or robots may be used to view and monitor vital signs, life support equipment and bedside radiographs.
- Physicians may use cameras to remotely examine patients.
- When cameras are used for patient examination:
- The nurse will inform you and your family that the camera is in use, if possible.
- Your bedside staff will take the appropriate actions to ensure your privacy.
- Telemedicine will always be used in ways that respect patient confidentiality and privacy.
- With the use of telemedicine, a qualified physician with critical care medicine training can be at your bedside virtually 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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