Certified Medical Assistant (CMA AAMA)Clinical Workflow and Patient IntakeHard
A medical assistant is taking a patient history and asks, 'Have you had any recent changes in your vision, hearing, or noticed any headaches, dizziness, or ringing in your ears?' This line of questioning is part of which component of the patient history?
- AChief complaint
- BReview of systems
- CPast medical history
- DHistory of present illness
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Review of systems
The review of systems (ROS) is a systematic head-to-toe inquiry about symptoms across body systems, such as the HEENT (head, eyes, ears, nose, throat) system in this example, used to identify problems not covered in the chief complaint.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Chief complaint is the patient's stated primary reason for the visit, not a broad symptom checklist.
- C. Past medical history covers prior diagnosed conditions, surgeries, and hospitalizations, not current symptom screening.
- D. History of present illness focuses specifically on details of the current chief complaint, not a systematic symptom review.
Review of Systems (ROS)
A systematic series of questions organized by body system used to identify symptoms the patient may not have mentioned in the chief complaint.
- Organized by system: HEENT, cardiovascular, respiratory, GI, etc.
- Distinct from HPI, which focuses only on the current complaint
- Helps uncover additional relevant clinical information
Memory trick: ROS = Review Of Systems, checking the body from head to toe like a checklist.