Value of Parental Documentation of Medical Events

One of the most difficult aspects of the practice of pediatric medicine is the art of soliciting from parents an accurate, unbiased summary of the signs and symptoms of an illness. It is only human nature that a parent, who desires immediate relief for their child, reacts emotionally to a medical event. Sometimes, however, medical judgments are made by the parent and inconsequential events are expounded while more important medical events are never mentioned. Even the most skillful pediatrician sometimes has difficulty decoding these statements and distilling anxiety and overt concern from the actual medical event.