Unit 14 – Physiological disorders Knowing the processes involved in the diagnosis of physiological disorders.

Which professionals might be involved? WDYT What processes do you believe are involved in the diagnosis of physiological disorders? Which professionals might be involved?

(source: Wikipedia dictionary) Key term: referral An act of referring someone or something for consultation, review, or further action. The directing of a patient to a medical specialist by a primary care physician. (source: Wikipedia dictionary)

What referral might an individual with a physiological disorder have ? Self referral: patient refers themselves to health professional, usually the GP, Professional referral: GP will refer patient following identification of symptoms for further test or to a specialist doctor. Third party referral: referral by carer or relative when the individual concerned is unable to do this for themselves.

(Source: medical dictionary) Key term: ancillary One who assists or is supplementary to another person (Source: medical dictionary) In this case this could be someone such as a social worker, a support worker, a teacher etc

WDYT What symptoms might lead to an investigation ? What investigations might be undertaken and why?

Symptoms and signs Cloudy urine, Pain when passing urine, Dizzy spells, Pain when passing faeces, Breathlessness when climbing stairs, Phlegm producing cough, Localised recurrent pains, Swellings, Lumps, High temperature,

Types of investigations Patients might be required to produce specimens of faeces, urine or blood, Patients might be required to undergo a physical examination internal or external, Patients might be required to check their glucose levels over a set period of time, Patients might be required to monitor their temperature regularly.

Investigations for each individuals Any investigation carried out will be specific to each disorder but will always focus on the medical history of the patient and standard test such as: Blood test for blood count, Blood test for haemoglobin levels.

Task Read through pages 202 to 203 on the measurements used in order to aid the diagnosis of physiological disorders in individuals,

Unit 14 – Physiological Disorders M1 – Issues with investigations and diagnosis

So far we have …. Identified physiological disorders which can affect individuals, Identified the key signs and symptoms for those physiological disorders, Identified some of the investigations carried out in order to diagnose individuals with specific physiological disorders.

Investigations for diagnosis – positive

Investigations diagnosis – Issues ?

Key issues with diagnosis …. Availability and cost of equipment, Central locations of specialist centres, Differences between health providers, Human error, Need for replication, Variations in norms, Disorders that lack specific diagnostic features.

1. Availability and cost of equipment ….

1. Availability and cost of equipment …. NHS funding has been significantly reduced how might that have an impact on the diagnosis of P.Ds ?

1. Availability and cost of equipment …. UK access to key diagnostic machines such as CT scans and MRI is low, how might that affect diagnosis ?

2. Central location of specialist centres ….

3. Differences between health providers…. What is the difference between primary and secondary care ?

3. Differences between health providers….

4. Human error ….

6. Variations in norms ….

7. Disorders that lack specific diagnostic features …. Can all your disorder be diagnosed using systematic methods ?

M1 – assess possible difficulties in the diagnosis of the disorders from their signs and symptoms Assess – evaluate or analyse….