the story of the present illness

The story of my life during the years leading up to my retirement could have been recorded in ten-minute sound bites, patient after patient, day after day. This was in keeping with the trend toward abbreviated discourse, 140 character tweets, and snarky comebacks that have come to replace the leisurely, thoughtful exchange of ideas that human beings have always enjoyed, and sometimes depended upon.

In medicine, the written or dictated patient note has been largely replaced by the electronic medical record (EMR). Nowadays, rather than narrating the patient’s story, you navigate his data base with a series of clicks that pull up a confusing array of bulleted lists, complicated charts, and sketchy details.

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This is intended to expedite what has been ruthlessly abridged to a ten-minute office visit. After all, as physicians, we have productivity quotients to meet and income to generate. That forces us to see more patients faster and to learn less about them at the same time.

It wasn’t always this way, though. There was a time, not many years ago, when I could scan my schedule for the day and envision every patient I was scheduled to see. I knew them that well.

With a quick glance at the chart, I was able to recall the patient who was getting ready to start chemo. She’d presented with palpitations and chest discomfort that could have required an extensive cardiac work-up. Instead, we discussed the anxiety she felt having watched her mother die of the same cancer despite having consented to the same treatment. My patient’s heart was fine. Her family history (a.k.a her story) made the diagnosis. Try teasing that information out of an EMR.

I knew instantly whose intractable headaches began the day she discovered the cigarette burn on the sweater her ten year-old wore to school that day. I could have run every test under the sun and prescribed every medication known to mankind, but unless we addressed the problem she was having with her child, nothing would have helped.

I remembered it because I'd asked about her family, she'd told me the story, and I'd written it into the chart.

This isn’t just idle chit-chat. It’s not a waste of time. In medical jargon, it’s called “the history of the present illness” but it could just as well be called “the story of the present illness.” And it should interest more than just writers. Research has shown that patients require fewer medications and fewer follow-up appointments when they are allowed, indeed encouraged, to tell their whole story. Patient satisfaction improves. And it improves the odds of getting the diagnosis right.

This should appeal to the CEO’s and CFO’s of hospital health systems because in the long run, it has been proven to save time and money.

Good history taking is the key to excellence in medical care. Every patient is embedded in a family, a community, and a culture, each of which affects his health. All patients experience illness in terms of their expectations, beliefs, and hopes. They know all about fear, shame, anger, guilt, and despair. Every one of them deserves our attention, respect, expertise, and honesty.

Each and every one of them has a story to tell and a lesson to teach. And that takes time.

"You are not your illness.
You have an individual story to tell.
You have a name, a history, a personality.
Staying yourself is part of the battle."
~Julian Seifte~

jan