The process of diagnosing typically begins with the asking of key questions concerning the patient's chief complaint and its history. A physical examination follows. In general, patients describe their health problems and those of their relatives very subjectively. Often, information about a symptom that particularly troubles a patient contributes little to the process of diagnosing, while a complaint the patient considers minor or not worth mentioning is clinically important. Because physical signs of disease are objective and may be the only real evidence of disease on hand, findings from physical exams should be recorded immediately.
Many inaccuracies stem from delays in recording such findings.
In some cases the frequent repeating of physicals may be appropriate but will not accord with the guidelines of the patient's health care plan. Numerous lab tests are easily available, and lab testing is often crucial to diagnosis. But no diagnostic test is foolproof, and correctly interpreting the data from such tests is often difficult. After the physician has confirmed any abnormality suggested by the test data, he or she must decide whether the abnormality is serious and whether to order other tests. Even when neither clinical findings nor lab findings are very accurate, consolidating them can lead to a more reliable narrowing of diagnostic possibilities than can using either group of findings alone.