Patienthood

Patienthood is the state or condition of receiving care or treatment from a medical practitioner or institution. In institutional usage, a patient is a person registered to receive treatment from a hospital, office, or other health-care practice, who may be permitted or compelled to reside in that institution for the period of treatment. In a personal sense, patienthood may be an identity adopted by recipients of medical care or sufferers of an affliction. Patienthood is often described in reference to the type of illness or injury that the patient is suffering, identifying the sufferer as, for example, a cancer patient or psychiatric patient. In the medical field, patienthood is a technical and legal category, but the notion of patienthood is also a central philosophical construct ...