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Importance of taking a medical history
History of Medicine
History of Medicine
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Recommended: Importance of taking a medical history
Introduction and Importance
A comprehensive history and physical (H&P) is a critical first step in the assessment of any patient. They often provide much more information than most broad examination and testing approaches do since the information is coming directly from the patient. Thorough H&P’s can help providers identify possible disease and illness helping aide in the diagnostic process and our frequently used as the foundation of medical management throughout an entire course of treatment with a provider.
Identification
This component is the beginning and general introduction and identification of the encountered patient. General identifiers are used such as the patients name, date of birth, race, age, and gender. Also, important
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It is important to document the reason for seeking care even if there is no specific complaint such as presenting for their initial or annual wellness visit. The (CC) is best documented in the patient’s exact words by using quotation marks.
History of the Present Illness (HPI) or History of the Chief Complaint (HCC)
The (HPI) is a description of the patient’s chief complaint from the time any first signs and symptoms began to the current point in time. It is important to document elements including location, quality, severity, duration, timing, context, modifying factors, and associated signs and symptoms. There are many different mnemonics that have been created to remember these elements such as PQRST and LOCATES.
Past Medical History (PMH) The past medical history component identifies any past diagnosis the patient may have received along with possible hospitalizations or traumas. This also identifies whether diagnoses are still active or inactive. It is important to also note in this section any allergies to both food or medication, the patient’s immunization status and well checkup status, as well as current meds the patient may be
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Things such as employment, relationship status, living environment, financial status, supports systems and so forth. Another very important part to the psychosocial component is identifying the patients use of any illicit drugs, alcohol, tobacco, excessive prescription medication or even over the counter medication.
Review of Systems (ROS)
The ROS is used to document any symptoms the patient is currently experiencing or has experienced generally within the last year regarding each specific body system (Constitutional, Eyes, Ears, nose, & throat (ENT), Cardiovascular, Respiratory, GI, GU, Musculoskeletal, Integumentary, Neuro, Psychiatric, Endocrine, Hematologic/lymphatic, Allergic/immune) (Sullivan, 2012). Positive or negative results are documented with further description and documentation of positive findings warranted.
Physical Examination
The physical exam is a head to toe assessment generally documenting the presence or absence of symptoms along with the patient’s appearance regarding; General, Vital signs, Skin, Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose, Mouth/Throat (HEENT), Neck, Respiratory, Cardiovascular, Abdomen, Rectal, Genitalia/ Pelvic, Musculoskeletal, and Neurological (Sullivan,
P3 – Describe the investigations that are carried out to enable the diagnosis of these physiological disorders
As a certified medical coder (CCA 11/2012), I have contributed to the HIMS department by helping code inpatient encounters from patients in the Residential Rehab Unit as well as outpatient encounters from the other clinics at this VA applying the official coding conventions outlined in the International Classification of Diseases 9th revision handbook as well as in the VHA’s Official Coding Guidelines, V11.0 dated August 10, 2011. Having coded many encounters over the past 3 years, I can easily determine the main condition after study that is chiefly responsible for a patient’s admission to the hospital. ICD-9-CM defines this as the primary diagnosis code and I find that it is most important to list this code first in your documentation
A head to toe assessment consists of a general safety survey, vital signs, mental status, psychosocial, head, eyes, ears, nose, throat, neck, chest, abdomen, upper and lower extremities, activity, therapeutic devices (Haugh, 2015). The next step is for the nurse is to detail the assessment that she / he will undertake on the
At the beginning of the gross examination, the patient should be comfortably seated on the edge of the bed to best visualize his or her thorax and breathing patterns. Visual inspection should first assess the respiratory rate, rhythm, depth, and effort, as well as any skin discolorations and gross deformities (e.g. curvatures and scars; Bickley & Szilagyi, 2013).
*A history of frequent, acute, and severe metabolic complications (hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, ketoacidosis) requiring medical attention
There are several tests and measure that can be done in a physical therapy examination in order to rule out certain diagnoses, as well as come closer to a physical therapy diagnosis. First, an observation of the patient standing, walking, and sitting should be done in order to associate any visible deficits in the patient that could be associated to the ...
chartings in the medical record of a patient, taking the patients vitals and reporting abnormal to
The doctor might also conduct a physical examination to confirm the diagnosis. This is carried out by listening...
... basic information of the patient. Professional and precise language should be used when documenting. For the care plan, I have learned to correctly write a nursing diagnosis and writing interventions that are within nurses’ capability and suits the patient’s personal status. From now on, I will remember to distinguish medical diagnosis from nursing diagnosis. For each diagnosis, I will write about the patient’s (potential) response to the health problem and state why this might be the concern.
Medical patient history inlcude families history and the status of the family members death if known. It tells relationships of the patient, his or her career and schooling this helps the physician to know and explain behavior of a patient in relation to illness or loss. It contains different habbits such as smoking use , alcohol , diet and exercise. History of vaccination is included and blood test prooving immunity. If a patient is hospitalized there are daily updates that are entered in the medical record; it documents clinical changes and new information.
“The physician performs a variety of tests to evaluate mental, emotional and language functions, movement and coordination, balance, vision, and the other four senses (Diagnosing
Jarvis, C. (2008). Physical examination and health assessment (5th ed.) with skills DVD. St. Louis: Saunders.
Jarvis, C. (2008). Physical examination and health assessment (5th ed.) with skills DVD. St. Louis: Saunders.
“The history-taking interview should be of high quality and must be accurately recorded” (Craig & Lloyd, p.48). It is important that while obtaining a thorough health history, that the patient is treated with dignity and that their privacy is respected. A complete history involves the collection of physical and psychosocial aspects of one’s health.
In this case the printed questionnaire will be given to every patient enrolled in the study prior to an education intervention. The questionnaire will be sent to the patient three days post discharge from the hospital. Since this tool can differentiate high or low knowledge, data will be entered electronically according to responses. Additionally, demographic material such as age, gender, primary and secondary diagnosis will be attached to each questionnaire. The demographic material and questionnaire will be coded for ease of data entry.