Start figuring out an objective test. Maybe this;
1. Star Trek-style 'tricorder' invention offered $10m prize
2. Strokefinder quickly differentiates bleeding strokes from clot-induced strokes
3. One of these 17 ways still need to be be proven for fast and objective diagnosis.
You're not even attempting to solve the problem the right way. You take the human subjectivity out of the equation. I really do wonder if anyone has two functioning neurons they are rubbing together.
http://www.medpagetoday.com/PracticeManagement/PracticeManagement/53833
Helping patients communicate their symptoms clearly could go a long way toward making an accurate diagnosis, John Ely, MD, MPH, said at the annual meeting of the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine.
Ely, a family physician who is retired from the University of Iowa in Iowa City and has been a patient himself recently, said he "got to thinking about what a good patient would do." One of the things professors teach medical students is the eight characteristics of a symptom.
The eight characteristics listed by Ely included:
- Where is your pain or numbness? This obviously wouldn't work for more generalized symptoms like fatigue or shortness of breath.
- How long have you had the symptom? If it's something intermittent -- like a spell of chest pain -- how often does it happen and how long does it last? Is it gradually getting worse? Getting better? Staying the same?
- What were you doing when you first noticed the symptom? Were you just sitting there? Arguing with someone? This is particularly important if the patient is having dizziness, Ely noted.
- Are any other symptoms associated with this one -- for example, light-headedness or shortness of breath?
- What is the "quality" of the symptom -- what does it feel like? "Patients sometimes say to me, 'What do you mean? It's just a pain, doc.' Well, is it like an elephant stepping on your chest, a fire in your chest, someone stabbing you with an ice pick, or what? I want to stay open-ended as long as possible, so [I usually say] 'Just tell me ... what it feels like,'" said Ely.
- What is the "quantity" of the symptom -- for example, how bad is it on a scale of 1 to 10?
- What aggravates the symptom?
- What alleviates the symptom?
No comments:
Post a Comment