What exactly does Objective Medical Finding mean?
Question:
Answers:
There are (2) types of Medical Findings
1 - Subjective Finding
This is when you tell the doctor that you have pain, or are not feeling well, etc.
A subjective finding is someething that can NOT be proved.
2 - OBJECTIVE Findings
An Objective Finding is when your doctor takes an X-ray or an MRI.
The finding on the X-ray or MRI is a evdience that there exists a BASIS for your pain or condition, etc.
Remember when the doctor taps your knee with that small hammer? That tapping is a clinical test, known as the Knee Jerk Test, done in order to get the Objective Finding. The RESULT of that procedure is the Objective Finding.
When the workers comp carrier reads the medical report they are looking for Objective Findings, to determine if there is a basis for your pain or disability.
I usually refer to the AMA Encyclopedia of Medicine to get a good explanation.
If you need help with workers' comp issues, try
http://www.GettingWorkersComp.com
Other Answers:
In medical terms, an objective finding would be something that a nurse , doctor, an MRI machine etc can see for themselves. Subjective basically means that the patient is complaining of symptoms but we cant actually see it. EXAMPLE: Pt is complaining of back pain..this is subjective because we CANT see the pain. However, on the other hand, if a patient was complaining of shortness of breath and we see the pt breathing funny or having short fast respirations etc..that is objective because we can SEE it.make sense?
Subjective is something that you would tell the doctor, i.e. you bent forward to pick something up and hurt your back. An objective would mean some type of evidence to back up your complaint, i.e. muscle spasm that can be felt by the doctor, abnormal x-ray findings, etc.
As a physical therapist, if I can push on an area that reproduces your pain or symptoms, that tells me a lot as to where your problem is. That allows me to treat you more effectively.
If I cannot objectively concur with your subjective history, that is not to say that you are necessarily faking - just that more testing needs to be done.
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