Identify the primary and secondary impression

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

1. (If you have not done so already) Add a new incident, or open an existing incident, as described in Add or edit an incident.

   By default, the Response tab and Incident Information sub-tab are selected.

2. Click the Situation tab.

   By default, the Chief Complaint sub-tab is selected, the Primary Impression selection button below the sub-tab is selected, and the Medical sub-tab under below Primary Impression is selected.

   

3. Determine whether the complaint is a medical issue or a trauma (physical injury) to the patient, and then click either the Medical or Trauma sub-tab.

   Selections for specifying the problem the emergency medical services team was called for in one or two words appear.

      

4. Click one of the selections to describe the primary problem.

   Your selection appears on the Primary Impression button.

5. (Optional) In the upper right corner of the interface, click Quick Actions.

   

   The Quick Buttons dialog box appears, listing action plan information such as treatment processes and medications that you may administer based on the selected primary impression.

   

   1. Select the treatment and/or medication that was administered to the patient.

      The time is automatically recorded for that treatment or medication, and automatically added to the events log, where the patient's vitals, procedures, and medications are recorded.

   2. Click Hide to close the dialog box.
6. Click the Secondary Impression sub-tab.
7. Repeat steps 3-5 to identify the secondary impression.

8. Depending on whether or not the primary impression is the actual chief complaint, in the upper right corner of the interface, do one of the following.

   

   Is the chief complaint the same as the primary impression?	Do this
   Yes	Click Same as Impression. The selection listed on the Primary Impression button appears under Chief Complaint.
   No	In Chief Complaint, type a description of the actual complaint the patient suffers.