Okuzeka
Medicine vocabulary · Patient Communication

Next of kin

Meaning in medicine, with examples

/ˌnekst əv ˈkɪn/nounCommon term

In medicine, next of kin means: The person a patient names as their closest relative or contact, whom the hospital will call in an emergency.

In Turkish: en yakın akraba, birinci derece yakın, hasta yakını

How it is used

Recorded in admission paperwork, and written NOK in notes. Staff contact or inform the next of kin. In some countries the next of kin does not automatically have the right to make medical decisions for an adult patient.

Example sentences

  1. Who should we put down as your next of kin?

  2. The next of kin has been informed and is on the way.

Common collocations

  • inform the next of kin
  • next of kin details
  • listed as next of kin
  • NOK
  • confidentialityThe duty of doctors and other staff to keep information about patients private and to share it only when this is allowed or necessary.
  • informed consentA patient's agreement to a treatment or procedure, given after the doctor has explained what it involves, its benefits, its risks and the alternatives.
  • break bad newsTo tell a patient or family difficult information, such as a serious diagnosis or a death, in a careful, honest and kind way.
  • admitTo accept a patient into hospital so that they stay in a bed for treatment or observation, usually for at least one night.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Patient Communication

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.