Categories: Doctor/Patient

by Aptus Associates

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Categories: Doctor/Patient

by Aptus Associates

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As a medical professional, your patients will come in with a list of symptoms and some of them may expect you to be able to diagnose them from just that. But that’s not exactly how it all works. There are many big and small medical mysteries out there and it’s okay to admit you don’t know what’s wrong with your patient. There are a few ways to go about diagnosing your patient so that they feel better in no time.

Exam

Although they’ve already rattled off their symptoms, it’s important that you exam your patient as well. Depending on their condition, it may be easy to tell what is ailing them without looking at them, but this isn’t always the case, nor it is advised. This may entail listening to their chest, looking at their throat, or a wide variety of other exams. If you don’t have a conclusion for their illness or just want proof to back up your theory, you’ll want to have them tested.

Tests

There are many medical tests you can do at your office but even more that your patient will have to go to another facility for. You probably can have several tests done in your own office like blood work, screenings, and even x-rays but for MRIs or other scans, your patient will likely need to go to an imaging center or some other testing facility.

In the meantime, while you’re waiting for text results, you may want to treat your patient’s symptoms until you can determine the cause of their ailment. Your patient may endure several rounds of testing as you determine what the problem could be.

Treatment

Treatment can come in a variety of forms. Mentioned above, you may treat the symptoms as you determine what the bigger solution may be. You also could administer medications, suggest surgery or other procedures, or even a lifestyle change could alleviate the problem.

It may take a few tried to get dosage, medications, or predictions correct for your patient but medicine is very much still a trial and error profession. Don’t get discouraged if a patient hasn’t been diagnosed yet or symptoms don’t add up. This is just another puzzle for you to solve to get your patient back on his or her feet.