What is the purpose of the physical examination?

The primary purpose of a physical examination is to assess a patient's overall health and identify potential health issues. This process allows healthcare providers to gather essential information about a patient’s physical condition through observation, palpation, auscultation, and other examination techniques. It serves as a vital tool in understanding the patient's health status, establishing a baseline for future comparisons, and detecting any abnormalities or changes that may indicate underlying conditions.

While referrals to specialists might be a result of findings from a physical examination, they are not the examination's primary purpose. Documenting a patient’s medical history and conducting laboratory tests can be integral parts of the clinical evaluation process, but these actions support and complement the physical examination rather than define its main goal. The focus of the physical examination itself is to directly evaluate health and pinpoint specific issues that may need further investigation or intervention.