This site is a fast, searchable clinical handbook for my day-to-day practice—organized for speed at the point of care, and written in a consistent, checklist-first format.

Scope#

  • In scope: adult and geriatric patients.
  • Out of scope (by default): pediatrics and pregnancy/OB topics.

Principles#

  • Symptom-first navigation: start with the patient’s complaint, not the diagnosis.
  • “Must-not-miss” bias: highlight red flags and time-sensitive conditions early.
  • Standard work: reusable frameworks, checklists, and note fragments.
  • Local practice reality: links to my preferred orders, follow-up intervals, and referral thresholds.
  • Maintainable: short pages, clean structure, and consistent templates.

Information Architecture (proposed)#

  • Complaints (symptom-based): the primary entry point; organized by body system.
  • Conditions (diagnosis-based): chronic diseases and high-frequency diagnoses.
  • Preventive care: screening, immunizations, counseling, and health maintenance.
  • Workflows: pre-op, med refills, labs follow-up, referrals, forms, communications.
  • Documentation & billing: coding reminders, documentation checklists, time-based billing.
  • Smartphrases: templates for common notes and patient instructions.

Complaint page template#

Every complaint page should follow the same structure:

  1. One-liner: what this page covers and when to use it
  2. Quick nav: jump links to sections (clinic-speed)
  3. Red flags / send to ED: “don’t miss” and escalation criteria
  4. Key history: focused questions that change management
  5. Focused exam: exam elements that matter for decisions
  6. Differential (quick pattern recognition): table with patient-described keywords
    • Dx name
    • Keywords patients use (“sharp,” “burning,” “locks,” “giving way,” etc.)
    • Key clues (onset/trigger, location, associated symptoms)
    • Focused exam maneuver(s)
    • “Do now” workup (if any) and initial next step
  7. Workup: initial tests/imaging and “when to expand”
  8. Management by diagnosis: short, diagnosis-based cards that include:
    • Patient education points (what it is, expected course, activity guidance)
    • First-line treatments + alternatives (contraindications considered)
    • Follow-up timing + escalation / referral thresholds
  9. Follow-up: reassessment plan and return precautions (copy/paste ready)
  10. Patient instructions: brief, plain-language, copy/paste ready
  11. Smartphrase snippets (optional)
  12. Coding/billing notes (optional)

Tip: for new pages, use the Hugo archetype at hugo-docs/archetypes/complaint.md to start with the standard structure.

Canonical guidance for creating/updating complaint pages lives in hugo-docs/content/docs/clinical/complaints/complaint-creation.md.

Diagnostic groups to start with (high-yield)#

  • Cardio: chest pain, palpitations, syncope/presyncope, edema, HTN urgency
  • Pulm: cough, dyspnea, wheeze, hemoptysis (triage-focused)
  • GI: abdominal pain, nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, GI bleed (triage-focused)
  • Neuro: headache, dizziness/vertigo, focal weakness/numbness, seizure (triage-focused)
  • MSK: back pain, knee pain, shoulder pain, monoarticular swelling
  • Derm: rash, cellulitis vs dermatitis, urticaria, wound concerns
  • ENT: sore throat, sinus symptoms, otalgia, hearing loss
  • GU: dysuria, hematuria, flank pain
  • Psych/sleep: depression, anxiety, insomnia
  • Endocrine/metabolic: hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, thyroid symptoms
  • Geriatrics syndromes: falls, delirium, dementia, frailty, orthostasis, polypharmacy, incontinence

Source notes#

I’m not copying content from any copyrighted book into this site. If I want to mirror a specific book’s chapter structure, I’ll use my own original notes or a legally provided table of contents and map pages to it.

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