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Medical History-Taking.

Medical History-Taking. This article is only available in the PDF format. Download the PDF to view the article, as well as its associated figures and tables. Abstract Like it or not, medical diagnosis is more a process of elimination than of direct assault. The medical mind parallels the computer; both receive data, associate the data with preprogramed knowledge, weed out what is irrelevant, and come up with the diagnosis or answer that best completes a whole picture from all the bits and pieces thrown into either hopper. The one, important, difference between man and his machine is that the latter cannot read flared nostrils; it cannot calculate clenched, clammy hands; it cannot evaluate a blush; nor can it assign a proper value to a sigh—all of which can be just as important as the phonic information being offered as the medical history. Thus, the success of any physician depends most on his skill in gathering pertinent information, and no ability acquired during a doctor's training and experience will ever substitute for failure to communicate with a patient. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Archives of Internal Medicine American Medical Association

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Publisher
American Medical Association
Copyright
Copyright © 1965 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN
0003-9926
eISSN
1538-3679
DOI
10.1001/archinte.1965.03860150115036
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This article is only available in the PDF format. Download the PDF to view the article, as well as its associated figures and tables. Abstract Like it or not, medical diagnosis is more a process of elimination than of direct assault. The medical mind parallels the computer; both receive data, associate the data with preprogramed knowledge, weed out what is irrelevant, and come up with the diagnosis or answer that best completes a whole picture from all the bits and pieces thrown into either hopper. The one, important, difference between man and his machine is that the latter cannot read flared nostrils; it cannot calculate clenched, clammy hands; it cannot evaluate a blush; nor can it assign a proper value to a sigh—all of which can be just as important as the phonic information being offered as the medical history. Thus, the success of any physician depends most on his skill in gathering pertinent information, and no ability acquired during a doctor's training and experience will ever substitute for failure to communicate with a patient.

Journal

Archives of Internal MedicineAmerican Medical Association

Published: Mar 1, 1965

There are no references for this article.