A Morning of Chronic Conditions

In practice

The first patient has type two diabetes and is in for a routine check. As the medical assistant takes the history, he mentions a small sore on his foot that has not healed in weeks. She knows that slow-healing sores are a common sign in diabetes, so she does not let the remark pass. She records it in his words and tells the provider before the provider enters the room. The second patient feels perfectly well and is in for a medication refill. Her blood pressure reading is high. The medical assistant knows that high blood pressure is often silent, so she does not take the patient's sense of feeling well as reassurance. She rechecks the reading as the practice's procedure directs, records both readings, and reports them. The third patient has asthma and came about a rash. While talking, she pauses to catch her breath, and the medical assistant hears a faint wheeze. She stops the routine intake and tells the provider right away, because asthma can worsen quickly. In each room she used what she knew to notice something that mattered. In none of them did she explain the finding to the patient or suggest a cause.