The term “intensive care unit” (ICU) was originally meant to refer to the intensity of the resources allocated to patient care. Today, however, ICU refers more to the intensity of the interventions undergone by the patient. In an opinion piece published in JAMA Internal Medicine, Brian L. Block, MD, of the division of pulmonary, allergy, and critical care in the department of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, discusses the evolution of the term ICU, which was first coined in the mid-twentieth century, and the importance of names in setting the stage for the type of care given in a hospital setting.

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