Which term describes a situation where a medical outcome is known but not desirable?

The term "adverse outcome" accurately describes a situation where a medical outcome is known to have occurred but is recognized as undesirable. In the field of healthcare risk management, understanding the implications of adverse outcomes is crucial for improving patient safety and the quality of care.

An adverse outcome refers specifically to negative results that arise from medical interventions, whether they are preventable or not. This understanding helps healthcare professionals not only identify risks but also implement measures to mitigate them in the future.

In contrast, an adverse event refers to any instance where a patient experiences harm as a result of medical care, regardless of whether the event is expected or not. An incident report is a formal record of an incident that involves patient harm or risk, but it does not specifically denote the nature of the outcome. Informed consent is the process of ensuring that patients are fully educated about the risks and benefits of a treatment before agreeing to it, which is a different aspect altogether from discussing the outcomes of medical interventions.

Thus, in a clinical context, when a known outcome is negative and highlights a failure in achieving the desired results of healthcare interventions, the term "adverse outcome" is the appropriate choice.