Formatting a patient history form
Compliance Monitor, January 6, 2006
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Q:What is the best way to format a patient history form?
A: You are wise to consider ways to improve the format of your office's patient history forms. A few simple changes to your patient history form can boost your liability protection by making patients more accountable for their own care. Consider the following:
1) Introductory sentence: Place wording at the top of the form to remind patients of your reliance on them to provide complete and accurate health history information. For example, "The following information is very important to your health. Please take the time to fully and accurately fill out this form."
2) Signature and date line: Include a space to capture the patient's signature and the date at the end of the form. Follow with the phrase, "I attest that the above information is true and correct to the best of my belief." This emphasizes the important role that the patient plays in his or her own care.
These two simple features transform common history forms-often fraught with errors and omissions-into liability reduction tools.
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