Patient Interview: Goals and Components

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The Goals of a Patient Interview
Components of the Patient History
An Incident
A Barrier
Conclusion
References

Introduction

A medical interview is one of the significant components in establishing a trust distance, identifying complaints, assessing the internal picture of a patient’s illness, discussing possible options for a treatment model, and several other critical aspects. An interview with a patient is one of the most effective assessment tools in clinical practice (Slade & Sergent, 2022). Hence, a thorough assessment of the principles of this procedure’s organization is required to understand its essence and specifics. A comprehensive analysis of the process for obtaining information about a patient through several methods, tactics, and strategies is what the emphasis is on in this paper.

The Goals of a Patient Interview

Obtaining comprehensive information about a patient to provide adequate care, developing a therapeutic relationship between a patient and a medic, as well as making a diagnosis are the main goals of an interview. The information obtained through this strategy will be a basis for future comparison and annual updates as needed (Myrick et al., 2019). In this case, an interview should be considered more as a way to establish a good relationship with a patient in terms of the realization of empathy and reassurance (Slade & Sergent, 2022). In general, an interviewer’s fundamental goal is to find causes and potential solutions for an individual.

Components of the Patient History

There are several critical components of the patient history: chief complaint (CC), history of present illness (HPI), review of systems (ROS), and past, family, and social history (PFSH). First, a chief complaint (CC) is a brief statement that most fully describes the cause of the encounter. Second, a history of present illness (HPI) tells the development of a specific patient’s disease. Third, a review of systems (ROS) means an inventory of the body’s systems obtained through a series of questions to identify signs and symptoms that a patient may be experiencing. Fourth, past, family, and social history (PFSH) is a resume of the areas of history directly related to concerns identified in the HPI.

An Incident

Using the wrong, incorrectly sized cuff is a case where I used the improper technique for measuring blood pressure. Moreover, I assumed that patients could sit or lie with their arms hanging by their sides. Based on this incident, I learned that too large or too small a cuff could give deliberately false results and low or high readings that may not correspond to reality.

A Barrier

The language barrier was one of the cases when I had to evaluate a patient from another culture. This man spoke little English, and we could hardly understand each other. However, this is nothing unique or unusual since the medical worker still addresses a patient, for example, through an online translator (Myrick et al., 2019). Thus, we succeeded in communication with the help of facial expressions, gestures, and modern technologies.

Conclusion

Summarizing the above-mentioned, it is necessary to state that interaction with the patient through interviews is essential for implementing high-quality and correct care and treatment. The interview aims to establish a trusting relationship with the patient and identify the information required for making a diagnosis. Of course, there are various difficulties in interacting with patients. For example, an incorrect measurement of blood pressure or a language barrier should be highlighted in such moments. However, they can be minimized and ultimately eliminated with a competent and correct approach.

References

Myrick, K., Karosas, L., & Smeltzer, S. (2019). Advanced health assessment and differential diagnosis: Essentials for clinical practice. Springer Publishing. Web.

Slade, S., & Sergent, S.R. (2022). Interview techniques. StatPearls Publishing LLC.

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