What Is an Interval History?

During any visit, one of the first things a doctor will do is take an interval history. An interval history is an account of what happened to the patient during the time between visits and a series of updates about specific health problems that occasioned the encounter.

Basic Information and Presenting Complaint

• Many interval histories begin in the same way, with a series of elementary questions: Doctors confirm the patient's name, date of birth and date of admission. From there, doctors ask for the presenting complaint or chief complaint, which is the patient's stated reason for coming. The series of questions a doctor asks during an intervening history can have tremendous impact on the course of treatment and successful diagnosis.

Broad Inquiries

• From there, the doctor tends to turn toward specific medical touchstones: What is the reason for your visit? When did the symptoms start? Have your allergies changed, have you been hospitalized or have you been injured? Any changes in your family members' health?

  The answers to those questions, coupled with the presenting complaint, help in differential diagnosis, a systematic technique that narrows down possible causes for illness and helps the doctor arrive at a conclusion.

Pain

• If a patient mentions pain, the doctor will ask a series of specific questions: Where is the pain? When did it begin? How does it feel? Does the pain migrate or expand at all? Does anything else about your body change when you're in pain? How does the pain feel throughout the day? Does anything seem to help or hurt? To what extent does the pain interfere with routine activities?

Previous Medical History and Risk Factors

• Doctors will also ask about previous treatments. They ask about medical and surgical treatments and assess social risks by asking about any changes in a patient's employment, marriage or home. Finally, the doctor asks about potential risky habits: diet, weight, exercise, cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, violence, mental state, sexual activity, breast exams (for women) and testicle exams (for men). Once the interval history has been completed, the doctor will often then begin the physical examination.