Focused Assessment
Focused Assessment
Focused assessment is a concentrated analysis of a certain area or system of the body, frequently carried out to collect detailed information about the patient's condition. It is very important for the identification of critical health problems, adjusting the treatment programs and assuring the complete patient care.
What is the purpose of a focused assessment?
The major objective of a focused assessment is to gather specific data about a particular health problem or symptom. For example, suppose a patient experiences chest pain, a focused assessment would exclusively assess the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, thus, allowing the healthcare providers to swiftly evaluate the possibility of a heart attack as one of the potential life-threatening conditions.
How does a focused assessment differ from a comprehensive assessment?
Unlike a comprehensive assessment that probes the entire body system, a focused assessment has a narrower scope. A comprehensive assessment collects broad health information during patient admission while a focused assessment aims at particular symptoms or areas of concern, thus facilitating quicker identification and action in critical situations.
When should a focused assessment be performed?
A narrow/sectional assessment is needed when patients arrive at the hospital suffering from certain diseases that should be taken care of immediately by the doctors, for instance, painful breathing, stomach upset, or complications in the nervous system. In such a case, a patient in an emergency room, who has a brain attack, will be assessed using a specific neurological evaluation to find out his or her level of consciousness and motor skills.
What techniques are commonly used in a focused assessment?
A very number of methodologies that can be employed in a concentrated evaluation consists of the following, according to the terrain being examined: inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation. The case of a medical doctor is presented who during an analysis of the abdomen he remarked on the belly being distended. Moreover, he found that the belly was tender on palpation and the patient had abnormal bowel signs. Through all this, he was collecting essential data regarding the patient's gastrointestinal function.