Faculty Comments - Vision Change Case 1 - Answer 3:
Question 3: What 3 very important things do you need to know in the history that weren't directly mentioned?
Answer:
Have you had any other recent illnesses/problems?
it is not uncommon for a pt to be experiencing a whole constellation of symptoms, sometimes beginning at different times, yet they only tell you about one of them
Is there anything that you think it might be, or anything that you're worried that it might be?
it is not uncommon for the patient to be afraid that they have something that another family member or friend has/had (especially some type of cancer). They also sometimes have a very good idea of what the problem might be based on what has happened to their friends or family or because of something else that they forgot to mention.
Is there anything else that he thinks we should know that we haven't covered?
again, you'd be amazed what information patients withhold unless you directly ask them or give them permission to add.