What should we call a person being screened for a disease

Forums: Patient, English, Medical, Technical Writing, Terminology
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We are making a pre-screening device that tests eye.
This device is used to check whether a person has any eye ailment or not.

In our operator manual, we keep referring to the person undergoing screening tests as patient. Is this right? Patient is someone who is suffering from a disease. right? In our case, after the screening only we know whether the person is a patient or a healthy person. Kind of "not guilty until proven" scenario.

Our dilemma is - what word we should use to refer the person undergoing screening? we thought of examinee, person, subject, etc... does not sound right in an operator manual.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

-- holla.

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Type: Question • Score: 8 • Views: 1,762 • Replies: 11

[+3] - Eva - 07/10/2012I prefer "patient." It always sounds like an acknowledgement of how much time I've spent in the waiting room.

@hollappa,

A patient does not need to have a disease to be considered a patient. Feel free to use patient. Examinee is a bit more awkward but would be accurate. Subject is also a fine choice.

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@hollappa,

"Screenee"

No?

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@Ticomaya,

What Ragman said.

Patient, or subject.

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@hollappa,

I like subject or examinee

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Any person in your care is your patient whether that person is healthy or ill.
Even after the care is complete, (for example, if a person was severely ill but, through the aid of the medical staff, recovered.) you would still refer to that person as your patient.

Joe( Cool

)Nation

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Patient would be acceptable, but I like client.

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@Lash,

I am a client at my bank, I am my doctor's patient.

And, to quote a long ago friend of mine:

Quote:

I stopped going to a therapist because she referred to me as her client and not as her patient. I told her I was a client of my agent only so long as he could get me work as an actor. I would be her client if she could get me work as an actor but, if not, I was her patient.

I am not "the next guest' at Starbucks, I am a customer.
(god, I hate that 'guest' crap.)

I guess I am a guest if I am staying at a hotel.
Unless we are at the pool, then I am a registrant, as in:
THIS POOL AREA IS RESERVED FOR REGISTRANTS OF THE HOTEL BLAH BLAH AND THEIR GUESTS.

I like going to the deli up the hill. The guys just yell "NEXT!!" when they are free. You decide 1) what kind of bagels you want and 2) whether you are a client, a guest or a customer.

Joe(Nobody says, everybody knows)Nation

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@Joe Nation,

I prefer "patient." It always sounds like an acknowledgement of how much time I've spent in the waiting room.

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There may be some questions re malpractice attaching to a patient (implying a contract) versus an examinee or a test subject (implying a short-term "relationship" where the subject is perhaps paid for time spent and is more like an independent contractor providing a small service, versus a patient receiving contractual services from a physician).

By the way, I still feel that malpractice would attach, and the people conducting the tests need to take due care, etc., but that could be a source of the terminology question.

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Funny how words have various connotations for us.

I don't like patient in this instance. For me, client means I've signed on for the professional services of someone. Re the medical community, many times the people who are poking, prodding and arranging us beside imaging machines do not know us - nor do they know who our doctor is. I definitely don't feel like anyone's patient in these instances. Certainly no one on site.

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Patient is fine

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What should we call a person being screened for a disease

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