A visiting nurse is making an initial home visit for a patient who has many chronic medical problems. Which type of data base is most appropriate to collect in this setting?
a. A follow-up data base to evaluate changes at appropriate intervals
b. An episodic data base because of the continuing, complex medical problems of this patient
c. A complete health data base because of the nurses primary responsibility for monitoring the patients health
d. An emergency data base because of the need to collect information and make accurate diagnoses rapidly
A complete health data base because of the nurses primary responsibility for monitoring the patients health
The complete data base is collected in a primary care setting, such as a pediatric or family practice clinic, independent or group private practice, college health service, womens health care agency, visiting nurse agency, or community health agency. In these settings, the nurse is the first health professional to see the patient and has the primary responsibility for monitoring the persons health care.