Clinical Implications of Cognitive Complexity in Critical Care

  • Khalid F. Almoosa
  • R. Stanley Hum
  • Timothy G. Buchman
  • Bela Patel
  • Vafa Ghaemmaghami
  • Trevor Cohen
Chapter
First Online:
Part of the Health Informatics book series (HI)

Abstract

The evolution of critical care medicine and the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has been a major advance in the success of modern medicine. Critical care medicine is a subspecialty that provides intensive life-sustaining monitoring and therapies for patients with life-threatening conditions in a very specialized setting. Each year, more than five million patients are admitted to the 5,000 ICUs in the United States [1], and the cost to sustain this care exceeds $90 billion annually [2]. Critical care is very dynamic, fast-paced, and complex in content and delivery, and optimal critical care is provided round-the-clock by a highly specialized, multi-disciplinary team. The provision of critical care has improved outcomes such as mortality and has prolonged and saved countless lives since its inception.

Keywords

Intensive Care Unit Critical Care Error Detection Error Management Critical Care Physician 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag London 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  • Khalid F. Almoosa
    • 1
  • R. Stanley Hum
    • 2
  • Timothy G. Buchman
    • 3
  • Bela Patel
    • 4
  • Vafa Ghaemmaghami
    • 5
    • 6
  • Trevor Cohen
    • 7
  1. 1.Division of Critical Care Medicine, Memorial Hermann HospitalUniversity of Texas Health Science Center, Texas Medical CenterHoustonUSA
  2. 2.Department of Pediatrics, College of Physicians and SurgeonsColumbia UniversityNew YorkUSA
  3. 3.Emory Center for Critical CareEmory University School of Medicine, Woodruff Health Sciences Center, Emory UniversityAtlantaUSA
  4. 4.Critical Care Medicine, Memorial Hermann HospitalUniversity of Texas Health Science Center, Texas Medical CenterHoustonUSA
  5. 5.Trauma Division, Department of SurgeryBanner Good Samaritan HospitalPhoenixUSA
  6. 6.University of Arizona College of MedicinePhoenixUSA
  7. 7.School of Biomedical InformaticsUniversity of Texas Health Science CenterHoustonUSA

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