The level of care required in a hospital can be classified based on intensity of services.
Patient selection: hospitalized patient
|
Care Location
|
Typical Patient
|
Care Intensity Level
|
|
ward
|
stable; intermittent monitoring and care
|
0 (low)
|
|
telemetry unit
|
stable; continuous monitoring with intermittent care
|
1
|
|
intermediate medical unit
|
unstable; frequent monitoring and care
|
2
|
|
ICU
|
unstable; continuous monitoring and care
|
3 (high)
|
Correlates for the level of care intensity:
(1) cost of providing care
(2) nurse to patient ratio
(3) risk level
