Physical Exam
Patients know in a heartbeat if they’re getting a clumsy exam - Dr. Abraham Verghese
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It’s Time to Reinvent the Physical Exam
In the technology-thick landscape of modern health care, the physical exam remains in a backwoods.
Sure, there have been advances—blood-pressure cuffs, for example, now inflate themselves—but on the whole the exam has barely changed in the past century. Patients still open up and say “ah,” take deep breaths and gaze at a tiny light peering into the back of their eyes.
A well-done exam can still determine whether an irregular heartbeat or potential cancer is detected or whether a radiologic test is necessary. Physician and author Abraham Verghese, an eloquent defender of the physical exam, says that the act of laying hands on patients is itself also a powerful ritual that…
Resources
The Physical Exam: A Vestigial Art?
But today, medicine has moved towards trying to become far more accurate at diagnosis with the use of technology and what is known as evidence-based medicine.
But I Don't Want a Rectal Exam!
A doctor can't force anything on a patient who is competent to make medical decisions and refuses care.
Get a Real Physical: What Your Doctor Should Be Checking
A real physical will look more comprehensively at body chemistry.
How important is a doctor’s skill in the physical exam of a patient?
To the lay person, a doctor’s examination might seem really important. “Of course it is, Dr M … Come on.” But is it so? Or, perhaps, is the examination a charade, a show, a necessity to complete the medical record.
If You’re a Healthy Woman, There’s No Evidence You Need an Annual Pelvic Exam
Yet another pillar of conventional preventive-health wisdom is crumbling. On Tuesday, a federal panel of medical experts announced that it has found an insufficient amount of evidence to support annual pelvic exams for healthy women who aren’t pregnant.
Physician Revives a Dying Art: The Physical
At Stanford, he is on a mission to bring back something he considers a lost art: the physical exam. The old-fashioned touching, looking and listening — the once prized, almost magical skills of the doctor who missed nothing and could swiftly diagnose a peculiar walk, sluggish thyroid or leaky heart valve using just keen eyes, practiced hands and a stethoscope.
The Fading Art Of The Physical Exam
"It's amazing to me that in this day and age there are some patients who go to their doctor, and the doctor doesn't even examine them," says Roman DeSanctis, a senior cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital who is famous for his diagnostic skills.
The Physical Exam as Refuge
There are few situations where we expect to disrobe and have our bodies touched by relative strangers. The physical exam is one of the unique characteristics of the doctor-patient encounter; a visit to a doctor doesn’t seem the same without one. Yet, increasingly, there’s less and less of it.
The Physical Exam Provides More Than Emotional Value
As in all aspects of medicine, experience and training enhance a doctor’s ability to provide good care. When done properly by a practitioner with clean hands, the physical exam’s value extends beyond the humanistic side of medicine - it’s a handy, diagnostic tool.
The Slacker's Guide to Seeing the Doctor
How long can you put off a check-up before it really starts to matter?
Who's Right in the Debate Over Pelvic Exams?
Doctors disagree about whether annual gynecological checkups do more harm than good—and all the conflicting recommendations are leaving patients confused.
Why Does the Physical Exam Stop at the Navel?
When I started out in my medical practice, I vowed not to be the kind of doctor whose physical exam ends at the navel. Why should my patients have to see two separate doctors to get a complete exam?
It’s Time to Reinvent the Physical Exam
In the technology-thick landscape of modern health care, the physical exam remains in a backwoods. Sure, there have been advances—blood-pressure cuffs, for example, now inflate themselves—but on the whole the exam has barely changed in the past century. Patients still open up and say “ah,” take deep breaths and gaze at a tiny light peering into the back of their eyes.
6 Better Questions To Ask Your Doctor During A Physical
There’s no such thing as a dumb question during a physical, but making these tweaks could help you get more out of your appointment.
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