To Prepare:

  • Review this week’s Learning Resources. Consider preventative health and assessing, diagnosing, and treating special populations.

Use the Focused SOAP Note Template to address the following:

Focused SOAP Note Template

Patient Information:

Initials, Age, Sex, Race


S.

CC (chief complaint): A brief statement identifying why the patient is here, stated in the patient’s own words (for instance “headache,” not “bad headache for 3 days”).

HPI: This is the symptom analysis section of your note. Thorough documentation in this section is essential for patient care, coding, and billing analysis. Paint a picture of what is wrong with the patient. Use LOCATES mnemonic to complete your HPI. You need to start EVERY HPI with age, race, and gender (e.g., 34-year-old AA male). You must include the seven attributes of each principal symptom in paragraph form, not a list. If the CC was “headache,” the LOCATES for the HPI might look like the following example:

Location: head

Onset: 3 days ago

Character: pounding, pressure around the eyes and temples

Associated signs and symptoms: nausea, vomiting, photophobia, phonophobia

Timing: after being on the computer all day at work

Exacerbating/relieving factors: light bothers eyes, Aleve makes it tolerable but not completely better

Severity: 7/10 pain scale

Current Medications: include dosage, frequency, length of time used and reason for use; also include OTC or homeopathic products

Allergies: include medication, food, and environmental allergies separately (A description of what the allergy is, i.e., angioedema, anaphylaxis, etc. This will help determine a true reaction as opposed to intolerance).

PMHx: include immunization status (note date of
last tetanus for all adults), past major illnesses and surgeries. Depending on the CC, more information is sometimes needed.

Soc & Substance Hx: include occupation and major hobbies, family status, tobacco & alcohol use (previous and current use), any other pertinent data. Always add some health promo question here, such as whether they use seat belts all the time or whether they have working smoke detectors in the house, living environment, text/cell phone use while driving, and support system.

Fam Hx: illnesses with possible genetic predisposition, contagious or chronic illnesses. Reason for death of any deceased first-degree relatives should be included. Include parents, grandparents, siblings, and children. Include grandchildren, if pertinent.

Surgical Hx: prior surgical procedures

Mental Hx: diagnosis and treatment. Current concerns: Anxiety and/or depression. History of self-harm practices and/or suicidal or homicidal ideation.

Violence Hx: concern or issues about safety (personal, home, community, sexual . . . current & historical)

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