No matter what your age may be, the physical examination and health assessment are the most important keys that we all have in order to achieve disease detection and prevention like if you are having your dentist appointment. When you present to a clinic, a doctor’s office, or an emergency department of a hospital, physical examination and health assessment would probably rank as the very first procedures that medical professionals do in order to address your complaints or symptoms.

Physical Examination and Health Assessment

Your whole general consultation would typically comprise a comprehensive medical interview. This interview includes physical examination and health assessment.

Physical Examination

The physical examination allows your doctor to check different parts of your body by way of inspecting, palpating, auscultating, and percussing your whole body or based on your chief complaints. For example, you present yourself in the clinic complaining of abdominal pain. Your doctor may look into it to see if you have:

Inspection: Skin discoloration like bruises, rashes, incisions, or puncture wounds

Auscultation: active bowel sounds

Percussion: gas, fluid-filled abdomen, or bloatedness

Palpation: abdominal tenderness, organ enlargement, or abnormal masses

Health Assessment

This part of your medical examination is where your doctor interviews you about your current complaints and other health-related issues that feel relevant to your problem. He may first assess your vital signs: check your temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration. He then proceeds with asking your questions about your chief complaints, when they started, how bad they are, and what remedies you have tried to alleviate them.

Your doctor may also obtain other pertinent information like your past medical history to know about any chronic or acute diseases you have had in the past. He may also ask questions about our family history as it plays a huge part in determining what conditions you may be at risk of developing in the future.

The information your doctor collects in these health assessment items gets put together to develop a treatment plan. An individualized list of treatment preparation helps in preventing any future disease processes in the future.

Physical Examination and Health Assessment:  Is It A Routine?

Tailoring the exam based on the patient’s complaints and medical history is a no-brainer. Every patient presents different signs and symptoms, so doing a completely similar procedure may be a waste of time for a critical moment. For instance, interviewing a patient who is suffering from a cardiac arrest is just undoubtedly unnecessary compared to doing CPR. Knowing what your patient really needs saves you time and effort, as well as allows you to care for them more efficiently.

The truth is, your complete physical examination and health assessment procedure depend on the reason why you are seeking medical care. If you present yourself as a healthy patient for an annual physical examination, then a broader and more comprehensive checking of your overall health status gets warranted. However, if you have health complaints when you see your doctor, he may focus his attention on how to address and treat that specific medical issue.