HPI and ROS Exam Questions With Correct
Answers
In your own words, describe the significance of an HPI. - answer✔✔The HPI is the story of
symptoms and events that led to the patient's ED visit. It includes the CC and the associated sx.
How is the HPI different from the ROS? - answer✔✔HPI focuses is story about the chief
complaint and its associated symptoms. ROS is a checklist of symptoms. It includes the chief
complaint, associated symptoms, and all other complaints the pt may have.
Name five "elements" of the HPI. - answer✔✔Onset, timing, location, quality, severity,
modifying factors, associated symptoms, context.
Name eight of the body systems included in the ROS. - answer✔✔Constitutional, eyes, ENT,
CV, Resp, GI, GU, MS, skin, neuro, psych, endocrine, heme/lymph, immunological
Can the symptoms listed in the ROS ever contradict the symptoms described in the HPI? Why or
why not? - answer✔✔No. Symptoms that are documented in the HPI also need to be
documented in the ROS.
What do you need to remember to document in the HPI and ROS for any patient that is
unconscious or incapable of providing information? - answer✔✔"HPI/ROS limited by..."
Identify the error in this sentence from an example HPI: "Patient states the CP has been
intermittent since Thursday." - answer✔✔We do not document days of the week in the HPI.
Instead, we would count back the number of the days and document this numerically.
Why is it important to remember to document if the patient has had similar symptoms in the
past? - answer✔✔Because it is less likely that their current symptoms are life threatening if they
have survived similar symptoms in the past.
Name one detail that is important to document if the patient has been evaluated in the past for a
similar complaint. - answer✔✔What symptoms prompted the prior evaluation? How long ago
did the prior evaluation occur? Who did they see? What treatment did they receive? Did it help?
What diagnosis was given? Any prior test results?
What should you focus on when writing an HPI? - answer✔✔Documenting the answers to every
question asked by the doctor.
What is the first item in the formula for writing an HPI? - answer✔✔Chief complaint and onset