A patient is the name given to any person who is ill or injured and is being treated by, or in need of treatment by, a physician or other medical professional.
Health consumer or health care consumer is another name for patient, usually used by some governmental agencies, insurance companies, and/or patient groups.
In the case of a terminal patient, death is approaching, and no treatment aimed at curing is available, just palliative care.
The word patient is derived from the Latin pati meaning "to suffer".
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