Discussion Groups / British English / April 2009

Wikipedia has an article on this subject:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_state

   Medical states or medical conditions are used to describe a
   patient's condition in a hospital. These terms are most commonly
   used by the news media and are rarely used by doctors in their daily
   business, preferring to deal with medical problems in greater
   detail.

There are separate sections for USA practice and UK practice.

   UK practice
   
   The release of patient information to the press is strictly
   controlled in the National Health Service (NHS). The Department of
   Health (DH) publishes a Code of Practice for guidance to NHS
   Trusts.[3]
   ....    
   Each NHS Trust has its own guidance for statements to the press. The
   DH Code of Practice has no official definitions of the standard
   phrases in use. However, most NHS Trusts will specify some[4] or
   all[5] of the following phrases in their guidance;
   
   * Deceased
   * Critical
   * Critical but stable
   * Stable
   * Satisfactory
   * Comfortable
   * Progressing well
   * Discharged

   USA practice

   A frequently cited condition is "stable". Typically, stable is not a
   condition on its own; it is usually qualified with a true condition.
   It is commonly used to denote conditions where a patient has a
   favorable prognosis or stable vital signs. The American Hospital
   Association has advised doctors to not use the word "stable" either
   as a condition or in conjunction with another condition, especially
   one that is critical, because a critical condition inherently
   implies unpredictability and the instability of vital signs.[1]
   Despite this, "critical but stable" conditions are frequently
   reported, ...
   
   The use of such conditions in the U.S. media has increased since the
   passing of the HIPAA in 1996. Patient privacy has become more of a
   concern to doctors and hospitals, and they are less likely to
   release specific medical conditions, fearing litigious patient