Record clinical impressions

A clinical impression determines what problems may affect the patient, before planning the treatments or management for the patient's condition.

  1. At the top of the page, click the Narrative tab.

    The contents of the Narrative tab appear, set to the Impressions bookmark in the left pane.

  2. For Primary Impression and Secondary Impression, click the field or the list icon to the right of the field, then select the appropriate single option from the menu that appears.

    The primary impression identifies the symptom, problem, or condition that is the reason for a medical encounter. The secondary impression is a second, less severe problem with the patient, which may or may not be directly related to the primary impression.

  3. For Chief Complaint System, click Global/General, Musculoskeletal/Skin, Cardiovascular, or Other and select the appropriate single option from the menu that appears.

    The chief complaint system is the primary organ system of the patient injured or medically affected.

  4. For Medical/Trauma, click either Medical, Trauma, or Medical & Trauma to indicate whether the patient encounter was primarily medical, trauma, or medical- and trauma-related.