potilaskohtaisen

Potilaskohtainen is a Finnish adjective meaning relating to the patient or tailored to a specific patient. The form potilaskohtaisen is the genitive singular, used in phrases such as potilaskohtaisen hoidon, potilaskohtaisen hoitopolun or potilaskohtaisen hoitosuunnitelman. The term is common in healthcare, research, and policy language to indicate that decisions, plans, or actions are adapted to an individual patient rather than applied universally.

In practical terms, potilaskohtainen care emphasizes incorporating the patient’s medical condition, comorbidities, age, preferences, and life situation into clinical decision-making. It is frequently used with nouns such as hoito (care), hoitotapa (treatment approach), suunnitelma (plan), and riskinarviointi (risk assessment). The concept is closely related to, but not exactly identical with, potilaskeskeinen or yksilöllinen care, which intersect with patient-centered and individualized approaches. In Finnish healthcare practice, potilaskohtaisen decision-making aims to balance evidence-based guidelines with the unique needs and values of each patient.

From a linguistic perspective, potilaskohtainen is formed by combining potilas (patient) with kohtainen (pertaining to), producing a set of inflected forms such as potilaskohtaisen (genitive singular) and potilaskohtaisen hoitoon liittyvät ilmaisut. The term is often translated into English as patient-specific or personalized, though nuance may differ depending on context.

See also: potilaskeskeinen hoito, potilaslähtöinen hoito, yksilöllinen hoito.