A brief statement of “how ill” the patient is. Patient condition is described to relatives, other professionals, and in public information releases. It may be described in terms of progression of the illness, for example, as “improving” or “stable.” It may also be described in terms of likelihood of favorable outcome, for example, “good,” “fair,” “poor,” “serious,” or “critical.” In general, this latter series progresses from high likelihood of recovery (good) to low (critical). While health care professionals often use these terms in communicating with each other about patients, terms describing patient condition may also reflect specific patient needs, and may use measurements which translate the condition into requirements for nursing service in order better to provide the necessary hours of skilled or other nursing care.