[arkades]

We do this for a reason. Not only do different people ask specific questions that try to elicit different things, but patients stories evolve with each repetition. People don’t realize how much, but by the third time you’re getting that history, the picture is usually quite different from what the first history depicted.

And since history is 90% of diagnosis, this isn’t some little quirk. It plays a huge role in helping patients. Huge.

[cperciva]

As a patient, I've been guilty of doing this deliberately. At ER triage, my priority is "get into a bed". Once I've been admitted, my priority is "get well". (And once I'm feeling better, my priority is "get out of here"...)

As a type 1 diabetic, if I have high blood glucose and nausea, I'm going to say the letters "DKA" to the triage nurse. I'll never bring it up again -- because the first blood chemistry test answers that question one way or the other.

[bookofjoe]

Reminds me of what an attorney once said to me (I'm a retired neurosurgical anesthesiologist with 38 years experience; I occasionally served as an expert witness): "The client's story never sounds better than the first time you hear it."