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The Importance Of Knowing A Patient’s Health History (And How To Simplify The Process)

The Importance Of Knowing A Patient’s Health History (And How To Simplify The Process)
by Angela Grover, RDH

At my current office, I am probably considered a health history nag, but I am okay with that! I would prefer to be known for this because patients are then actively involved in their dental care when they participate in updating their health history at EVERY appointment. When hygienists involve patients this way, we are able to educate patients on how their whole health can contribute to dental diagnoses. With the knowledge of medications and new and previous medical diagnoses (i.e., Sjogren’s, cancer, diabetes), we are better able to connect the dots on the how and the why of various dental conditions that patients present with. In turn, this becomes a roadmap to our appointments. Making health history updates a priority is a must; there are no excuses for not taking a few minutes to do this for patients and ourselves. Mainstreaming this process can be made quite simple with patients chairside.

How often should we update our health histories, you ask?

While attending the Rocky Mountain Dental Convention (RMDC) recently, I attended the most informative class of my career, when it comes to an understanding what we, legally, should be considering. The dentists and lawyers (Dr. Robert Anderton, Dr. Mitchell Gardiner, Ms. Joy Jagol, and Mr. Ryan Donihue) leading the class were adamant that medical histories should be reviewed every time we see a patient. This is because we never know what can happen in a 24, 48, or 72-hour period, from appointment to appointment. We all know our training, and we all know we want to be the best, so let’s continue to follow through with the level professionalism we were taught! Once we have updated the health history form, it is then vital to have the current date and a new signature.

Earlier, simplicity was “promised.” Many methods can be utilized when updating the medical history. At the office I practice, we have a signing pad that connects to a USB port on the computer; Eaglesoft is our software; the customer support team can assist in setting this device up for your office. If another software is utilized in your office, it would be suggested to contact their support team to see if this can work for your office set up. I have also witnessed another office that had a computer near the front desk, and they asked patients to review the health history before the hygienist calls the patient back for their appointment. Of course, hygienists still must make it their responsibility to review this new information to be sure all new conditions are noted properly.

If you still use a paper chart, a suggestion is to ask the patient to review their previous form and make any corrections with their initials next to the correction and be sure to sign and date near the prior signature. In the past when a paper chart was utilized, it got to the point of disaster after a number of visits; at that point, it would be wise to have the patient or caregiver update a new form. This point was made very clear in the simulated court case class at the RMDC, as the dentist on trial had not shown validity in the medical history update, and the prosecuting attorney proceeded to come back to the update of the medical history time and again. When all else fails, and you need that health history done yesterday, try helping your patient complete the form, or ask another team member to assist them after their appointment with a new update. Think outside the box to manage your appointment to efficiency.

Read full article on Today's RDH.