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STAT. It’s often capitalized, I guess to convey urgency. It shouldn’t be, though, since it’s not an acronym. It’s a shortening of the Latin word “statim” meaning “immediately.”
Everyone in health care says it at one time or another, but I find it unsettling how many have no idea, or simply don’t care, what that really means.
To me, it’s that the test you’re ordering is urgent. You need to make a decision based on its results – STAT – to save life and/or limb. The results may make a significant difference in your treatment plan.
I find a lot of people don’t use this as the meaning anymore. They think STAT means “because I’m trying to get the patient out of here before Monday” or “a family is breathing down my neck” or “this is a VIP hospital board donor and I need to be extra nice.”
I’ve had my share of debates with other docs about those meanings, but I still stand by mine. To me, this is like pulling a fire alarm. When you do it, you want people to know you’re serious, and there’s a problem that needs to be addressed urgently.
Medicine, regrettably, has become a field of immediate gratification. Patients want results NOW. I’ve had people call me for results within 10 minutes of leaving an MRI facility or lab, even though I’d told them in advance that turnaround time would be days. Rather than accepting this, many ask that I call the radiologist or otherwise have their results rushed to make it more convenient for them. Of course, if you refuse, they may threaten to give you a bad review on Yelp or other rate-a-doc sites.
Some doctors are the same way. A syncope patient is stable, but needs to have a STAT EEG over the weekend so they can be sent home within the 24-hour observation window. It might be possible to send the patient out and get the study as an outpatient, but then they might not have it done, or another neurologist might get the billing. So better to pay the EEG tech overtime and have it done STAT.
Like the boy who cried wolf, STAT has become so commonplace at some hospitals as to be meaningless. Which only hurts the patients who legitimately need urgent studies.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Ariz.
STAT. It’s often capitalized, I guess to convey urgency. It shouldn’t be, though, since it’s not an acronym. It’s a shortening of the Latin word “statim” meaning “immediately.”
Everyone in health care says it at one time or another, but I find it unsettling how many have no idea, or simply don’t care, what that really means.
To me, it’s that the test you’re ordering is urgent. You need to make a decision based on its results – STAT – to save life and/or limb. The results may make a significant difference in your treatment plan.
I find a lot of people don’t use this as the meaning anymore. They think STAT means “because I’m trying to get the patient out of here before Monday” or “a family is breathing down my neck” or “this is a VIP hospital board donor and I need to be extra nice.”
I’ve had my share of debates with other docs about those meanings, but I still stand by mine. To me, this is like pulling a fire alarm. When you do it, you want people to know you’re serious, and there’s a problem that needs to be addressed urgently.
Medicine, regrettably, has become a field of immediate gratification. Patients want results NOW. I’ve had people call me for results within 10 minutes of leaving an MRI facility or lab, even though I’d told them in advance that turnaround time would be days. Rather than accepting this, many ask that I call the radiologist or otherwise have their results rushed to make it more convenient for them. Of course, if you refuse, they may threaten to give you a bad review on Yelp or other rate-a-doc sites.
Some doctors are the same way. A syncope patient is stable, but needs to have a STAT EEG over the weekend so they can be sent home within the 24-hour observation window. It might be possible to send the patient out and get the study as an outpatient, but then they might not have it done, or another neurologist might get the billing. So better to pay the EEG tech overtime and have it done STAT.
Like the boy who cried wolf, STAT has become so commonplace at some hospitals as to be meaningless. Which only hurts the patients who legitimately need urgent studies.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Ariz.
STAT. It’s often capitalized, I guess to convey urgency. It shouldn’t be, though, since it’s not an acronym. It’s a shortening of the Latin word “statim” meaning “immediately.”
Everyone in health care says it at one time or another, but I find it unsettling how many have no idea, or simply don’t care, what that really means.
To me, it’s that the test you’re ordering is urgent. You need to make a decision based on its results – STAT – to save life and/or limb. The results may make a significant difference in your treatment plan.
I find a lot of people don’t use this as the meaning anymore. They think STAT means “because I’m trying to get the patient out of here before Monday” or “a family is breathing down my neck” or “this is a VIP hospital board donor and I need to be extra nice.”
I’ve had my share of debates with other docs about those meanings, but I still stand by mine. To me, this is like pulling a fire alarm. When you do it, you want people to know you’re serious, and there’s a problem that needs to be addressed urgently.
Medicine, regrettably, has become a field of immediate gratification. Patients want results NOW. I’ve had people call me for results within 10 minutes of leaving an MRI facility or lab, even though I’d told them in advance that turnaround time would be days. Rather than accepting this, many ask that I call the radiologist or otherwise have their results rushed to make it more convenient for them. Of course, if you refuse, they may threaten to give you a bad review on Yelp or other rate-a-doc sites.
Some doctors are the same way. A syncope patient is stable, but needs to have a STAT EEG over the weekend so they can be sent home within the 24-hour observation window. It might be possible to send the patient out and get the study as an outpatient, but then they might not have it done, or another neurologist might get the billing. So better to pay the EEG tech overtime and have it done STAT.
Like the boy who cried wolf, STAT has become so commonplace at some hospitals as to be meaningless. Which only hurts the patients who legitimately need urgent studies.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Ariz.
