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A retrospective audit of family history records in short‐stay medical admissions
Author(s) -
Langlands Andrew R,
Prentice David A,
Ravine David
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2010.tb03701.x
Subject(s) - medical record , family history , medicine , audit , medical history , retrospective cohort study , past medical history , unit (ring theory) , hospital records , emergency medicine , pediatrics , family medicine , surgery , psychology , mathematics education , management , economics
Objective: To retrospectively review the frequency and adequacy of family histories recorded from patients admitted to a short‐stay medical unit in a tertiary teaching hospital. Design, setting and patients: A formal audit of the medical records of 300 randomly selected patients who were admitted to the Royal Perth Hospital short‐stay medical unit between July and December 2007. Main outcome measure: Proportion of patient records with family history documents. Results: Of the 300 patient records, 48 (16.0%) contained a family history with specific details about the presence or absence of a medical condition in at least one relative. Overall, 221 records (73.7%) had no family history documented. There was a trend towards more frequent and detailed family histories being recorded from younger patients and those presenting with chest pain. Conclusions: Family history was seldom documented in patients admitted to a short‐stay medical unit in a tertiary teaching hospital. An increased focus on family history taking among acutely ill patients offers potential health gains for patients and their high‐risk relatives, particularly as preventive or risk‐reducing health care strategies are emerging for a growing number of heritable disorders.