Location, quality and duration are the elements of HPI met in this statement.
An explanation of how the patient's current ailment developed. The HPI often provides a chronological account of how the patient's current illness developed from its initial signs and symptoms to the present. The following components, in some combination, should be present:
Location: What is the location of the pain?
Quality: Include a description of the quality of the symptom (i.e. sharp pain)
Severity: The degree of pain for example can be described on a scale of 1 - 10
Duration: How long have you had the pain
Timing: Describe when you have pain for example pain with exertion or pain in the evening
Context: What is the patient doing when the pain begins
Modifying Factors: What makes the pain better or worse for example aspirin helps
Associated Signs and Symptoms: Physicians based on assessment may ask about other sensations or feelings for example – do you experience pain while exercising
Two Levels of HPI:
Brief HPI: Requires one to three HPI elements (see above list)
Extended HPI: Requires four HPI elements or the status of three chronic problems (see 1997 guidelines for the status of chronic conditions)
