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Symptom Assessment

Meaning

Symptom assessment is the systematic, structured, and crucial clinical process of gathering, analyzing, and meticulously documenting a patient’s subjective complaints and reported experiences of illness, discomfort, or functional impairment. This process is the foundational first step for accurate clinical diagnosis and the development of an individualized treatment plan. A comprehensive assessment involves a detailed history, often utilizing validated, standardized questionnaires and patient-reported outcome measures to precisely quantify the severity, frequency, and overall impact of the patient’s symptoms.