A medical condition is a general term used to describe an observation made that can have an impact on the health of an individual.

The term is sometimes used when a study encompasses a diverse variety of clinical entities,^[1] such as in the evaluation of generalist care.^[2]

Although the phrase is sometimes equated with disease, usage of the latter term can be questionable in some contexts.^[3] For example, the term "medical condition" can be useful in describing entities such as Mongolian spots. The condition is not dangerous, but it is still is useful to record it accurately so that one can explicitly exclude less benign conditions. However, it is not usually considered a "disease" or a "disorder".

The phrase is also sometimes used to bypass some of the difficulties in precisely distinguishing between symptoms and signs. The distinction between the two is sometimes described as objective vs. objective, but sometimes described as being dependent upon the observer. For example, clubbing is usually given as an example of a sign, because it means something to the health care provider but not to the patient. However, if a health care provider examines another health care provider, the information asymmetry may be reduced or absent, and is therefore of limited value in placing the observation into a discrete category. Use of more general terms can avoid this complication.

Less commonly, the term "medical condition" is used to describe the general medical state though this usage can create unnecessary ambiguity.

Objections and exclusions

Psychiatric

The use of the term is usually inclusive, but it can also be used to exclude. For one insurance website uses a definition of "medical condition" to explicitly include injury, illness or disease, but explicitly exclude psychiatric illness.^[4] However, this website does not represent any specific accredited organization, and does not necessarily align with the usage of the word in other contexts.

DSM includes the category "psychological factors affecting medical condition",^[5] which may carry the implication the specific enumerated factors would not themselves be classified as medical conditions. However, the use of this category has not met with universal acceptance.^[6]

Entities such as pathological gambling have been described as medical conditions.^[7]

Other

Although the term "medical condition" is usually considered value neutral and inoffensive, some have objected to use of the term to describe states such as pregnancy^[8] or dyspraxia.^[9]

The term "medical conditions" has also been used as an explicit contrast to "physical disabilities".^[10]

Some explicitly distinguish between "signs" and the "underlying medical condition".^[11] However, others describe symptoms or signs as "emergency medical conditions" (as opposed to indicators of those conditions.)^[12] Use of precise language in these contexts may be emphasized because of the importance of the phrase "emergency medical condition" upon Medicaid reimbursement.

References

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