Relevance driven strategy for clinical data collection.
S Kumar
Department of Urology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Pondicherry
Correspondence Address:
S Kumar Department of Urology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Pondicherry
Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
Check
Clinical data collection is an essential professional skill. Medical students at the begining of their career are taught to follow a standardised routine for clinical data collection and this method aims at achieving "completeness" of clinical data ("Completeness" Driven Strategy). Research has shown that this routine is not followed in actual clinical practice and clinical data gathering is guided by initical practice and clinical data gathering is guided by initial diagnostic impressions (Relevance Driven Strategy). The two strategies of clinical data collection are described using a hypothetical patient and then compared and contrasted. Relevance Driven Strategy needs to be adopted for effective and efficient clinical data collection.