Illness Scripts Flashcards
What is an disease illness script? What does it include?
-Representation of a condition in the mind of a practitioner, vary between practitioners
-will change over time with experience & research
- Epidemiology, Time course, Clinical Presentation, Mechanism/pathophysiology
What does epidemiology include (disease illness script)?
- Demographics
-age, sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status - Risk factors
-including pre-existing conditions - Exposures
-travel, occupational, hobbies, sexual, drugs, meds, pets, close contacts
What does time course include (disease illness script)?
- Duration
-hyperacute (same day)
-acute (days)
-subacute (weeks)
-chronic (months) - Persistence/pattern
-constant: stable, progessive
- Episodic: waxing & waning, intermittent
What is a clinical presentation?
- most important signs & symptoms
How many disease illness scripts should you compare?
2 - 3 diseases.
-if you need more, create a separate comparsion
What is a patient illness script?
A concise representation of the patients concern that allows similar matching with a disease illness script.
What does a patient illness script include?
- Epidemiology
- Time course
- Clinical presentation
- Other important medication history
What can you find in the epidemiology section of a disease illness script that is not included in a patient illness script?
Patient illness script epidemiology does not include:
-race/ethnicity
-socioeceonomic status
-physical characteristics
They tend to promote bias
What does the patient illness script clinical presentation include & exclude?
Include: most important signs & symptoms
Excludes:
-elements mentioned in previous sections
-findings of little relevance
-past medical history unconnected to the chief complaint
-previous diagnosis (unless they were clearly connected)
