A
typical medical practitioner knows all about this process of clerking, this is
basically the first thing he does when attending to a patient i.e. he clerks.
Clinically,
clerking involves:
1. History
Taking- involves taking demographic data, noting the main presenting problems,
past medical history, history of main presenting complaint, family history,
occupational history, drug history, alcohol history e.t.c. Basically, it helps
in determination of symptoms.
2. Physical
Examination- is useful in the elicitation of signs of the disease in question.
3. Provisional
and differential diagnosis: the clinical history and physical examination
conducted will help the clinician arrive at provisional diagnosis, from which
he arrives at a differential diagnosis.
4. Management
Plan- involves investigative procedures (e.g. haematological investigations) as
well as a treatment plan for the diagnosed disease.
How
about clecking? Clecking is not a word that’s used too often, except with
regards to twitter. It is actually derived from the Welsh word “clecan”, that
means “to gossip”. Cool, right?
Anyways,
a clerk cannot be a cleck. It is ethically wrong, so I was taught, and so I know.
A clerk, who doubles as a cleck is violating the confidentiality code between
the patient and the doctor, and this might consequently breach the
patient-doctor relationship.
However,
at times, it is also debatable because sometimes, this code might be breached
if there is an overriding duty to society, the doctor has the patient’s
permission to do so, on strict legal grounds, if it is in the patient’s best
interests or after death.
Point
noted, I hope?
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