Medical Spanish Past Medical History (PMH)
Overview Welcome to the Past Medical History (PMH) page! This lesson will provide you with essential vocabulary and dialogues to assist you in obtaining a more accurate PMH. You should work through the vocabulary flashcards and quizzes below until you are comfortable with the vocabulary related to the Past Medical History (PMH). It is impossible to acquire all the necessary medical vocabulary quickly. Review the vocabulary flashcards below at the level which you feel comfortable. As you expand your Spanish vocabulary, return to this lesson and review the more advanced vocabulary flashcards. After you master the vocabulary, click on the Professional - Q&A tab to the left to access dialogues spoken by the healthcare professional. These dialogues are broken down into subcategories, including General History, OB/GYN History, Social History, Sexual History, and Family History. Click on the Patient - Q&A tab to the left to access dialogues spoken by the patient. These dialogues are broken down into the same subcategories outlined above. There are also quizzes related to each subcategory. Human Body Vocabulary Human Extremities Vocabulary Face & Head Vocabulary Patient Feelings Vocabulary Medical Vocabulary 1 Medical Vocabulary 2 Medical Vocabulary 3 Medical Vocabulary 4 Medical Vocabulary 5 General History OB/GYN History Social History Sexual History Family History Patient - General History Patient - OB/GYN History Patient - Social History Patient - Sexual History Patient - Family History Professional - Q&A Patient - Q&A
	Previous

Obtaining a medical history is the first step in determining the patient's problem. Many times, you will be able to make a diagnosis based solely upon an accurate medical history. The value of the medical history will depend on your ability to elicit relevant information. This is especially difficult with Spanish speaking patients due to both linguistic and cultural barriers.

The material above was developed to increase the medical professional’s comfort level with performing the past medical history in Spanish. It does not take a vast fund of knowledge to successfully interview a patient. Many experienced physicians often lose site of this fact, placing too much emphasis on the use of resource intensive and expensive testing while failing to take the time to listen to their patients. Successful interviewing is dependent upon the communication skills which you already posses and the language skills which you will obtain by utilizing these resources.

The precise history required in a primary care consult will depend on the presenting symptoms, the past medical history, psychological history, and social history, as well as the patient’s current concerns.

As a general rule, the framework for the past medical history is as follows:

• determine general state of health: excellent, good, fair, poor. Note any recent changes in state of health
• past illnesses: diabetes, hypertension, cancer, heart disease
• all hospitalizations: including psychiatric, medical, and surgical hospitalizations
• injuries
• surgeries
• current medications
• allergies
• immunizations
• current and past substance abuse
• patient diet and nutritional status
• sleep
• alternative therapies
• obstetric/gynecologic history
• birth history
• growth and development

  Vocabulary Flashcards
  Vocabulary Quiz
  Photo Quiz
  Spelling Quiz
  Sentence Flashcards
  Video
  Example Sentences
  Dialogue
  Image-Sentence Match
  Word Order Quiz
  Multiple Choice Quiz
  A or B Quiz
  Fill In

Icon Legend

Icons are color coded by Spanish level:

Green = Beginner
Blue = Intermediate
Orange = Advanced

Black icons are unrelated to Spanish level:

Help
Download
Information