Urgent message: Recording thorough and accurate vital signs supports the urgent care physician in asking the right questions of the patient’s history of present illness, guides the physician in the physical exam, and thus is essential in reaching an accurate diagnosis and devising an effective treatment plan. Show
Imagine you are a medical assistant on duty in a busy urgent care center. A patient walks in, and you check him in. You ask his height and weight, but do not take a measurement yourself. You take him to the exam room and measure his temperature, pulse, and blood pressure, but not his respiratory rate. You ask him if he is having pain and chart his answer, but do not get a number from the pain scale. As the physician on duty pulls up the vitals in the electronic medical record, she sees that you have created an inaccurate chart and given an incorrect picture of the patient’s current condition. Let’s take a close look at why recording
accurate vitals, and thus creating an accurate medical record, is so important. Second, vital signs can be an early indicator of illness, deterioration, or impending adverse event.2 Vital signs are important for the physician when evaluating the patient. The physician can review the vital signs to determine what probing questions need to be asked regarding the patient’s condition, including its history and progression, as well as identifying next steps in evaluating and treating the patient. Without accurate vital signs, the proper questions may not be asked, the proper tests may not be ordered, and the proper treatment may not be prescribed. For example, one patient who complained of a cough and shortness of breath could easily have her condition attributed to a virus, allergies, or asthma—but when the pulse-oximeter reading was low and an x-ray ruled out airway obstruction, the physician began to hone in on the possibility of anemia and discovered a much more serious underlying condition. Steps in Obtaining Accurate Vital SignsObtaining vital signs is not invasive and should be performed using the proper techniques to assure accurate results:
Conclusion It is our responsibility as medical professionals to accurately obtain vital signs. Obtaining a patient’s vital signs requires proper technique is mastered by repetitively performing the technique. Providing an accurate recording of a patient’s vital signs is not only important for the record to be accurate, but it is core to providing quality patient care. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Practice Velocity, LLC and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. References
President of Experity Consulting and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine What does pulse oximetry measure quizlet EMT?Pulse oximetry measures the percentage of hemoglobin that is saturated with oxygen, but does not measure the actual hemoglobin content of the blood.
What approach should you take to be sure you are accurately counting a patient's respirations?How do I count a person's respirations?. Look at his or her chest rise and fall. One rise and one fall are counted as 1 breath.. Listen to his or her breaths.. Place your hand on the person's chest to feel the rise and fall.. When obtaining a blood pressure the EMT listens for a pulse over which blood vessel?33. To determine blood pressure, the EMT should position the cuff over the upper arm and place the stethoscope over the brachial artery.
When you are applying the pulse oximeter sensor to a patient's finger he asks you what this device is for your response would be?When applying the pulse oximeter sensor to a patient's finger, he asks you what it is for. Your response would be: "It measures the amount of oxygen being carried by your blood cells." Which one of the following statements concerning assessment of the pulse is correct?
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