Might a Systematic Reading of the Thickest GP Patient Medical Records Improve our Understanding of Functional Disorders View PDF

^*Irene Hetlevik
Department Of Public Health And General Practice, Norwegian University Of Science And Technology , Norway

^*Corresponding Author:

Irene Hetlevik
Department Of Public Health And General Practice, Norwegian University Of Science And Technology , Norway
Email:irene.hetlevik@ntnu.no

Published on: 2015-04-06

Abstract

A large proportion of General Practitioners’ (GPs) patients experience health problems for which there are no objective findings indicating a clear diagnosis or an appropriate treatment. Objective: In this study, we examine the medical records of one GP relating to all his patients diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Our aim was to deepen our insight into the concept of ‘functional disorder’ as it presents in general practice.

Keywords

General practice; Patient medical records; Functional disorder; Irritable bowel syndrome; Chronic pain

Introduction

Both GPs and hospital specialists experience that many patients suffer from ill health characterized by symptoms that impair function but which cannot be precisely diagnosed using objective measures. Such conditions are typically termed ‘functional disorders’ within somatic medicine and ‘somatoform diseases’ within psychiatry.