Understanding Health Maintenance vs. Problem List

Clinicians sometimes ask about the difference between Health Maintenance and the Problem List in Akute. Here’s a quick guide to when to use each:

Problem List

The Problem List is most similar to a past medical history of diagnoses and conditions. It is designed to capture medical issues using ICD-10 codes or free text entries.

• Use for documenting chronic conditions (e.g., diabetes, hypertension).
• Use for acute conditions that are being tracked.
• The Problem List should focus on medical diagnoses. Other historical details such as surgeries, family history, or social history should be documented in their dedicated sections of the chart.

Example:

If a patient was hospitalized for pneumonia, you would list the diagnosis (e.g., Pneumonia, ICD-10 J18.9) in the Problem List. In the notes field, you could add context such as “Hospitalized April 2024, required IV antibiotics.”

In short, the Problem List is a clinical reference for diagnoses and conditions, with space to add relevant context where needed.

Health Maintenance

The Health Maintenance section is for documenting preventive care and screenings completed for the patient.

• Use for items like colonoscopies, mammograms, Pap smears, depression screenings, diabetes monitoring, and vaccinations.
• These entries record that preventive care has been completed and create a reference point in the chart.

Example:

If a patient completed a screening mammogram, you would enter “Mammogram” into Health Maintenance with the date it was completed. You can then set it to repeat in 2 years, which will automatically create a task reminder so you and your team know when the patient is due for their next screening.

Summary:

• Problem List = Diagnoses (ICD-10 or free text) that reflect a patient’s past and current medical conditions.
• Health Maintenance = Preventive care and screenings that have been completed for the patient.
• Other history = Use the dedicated sections for surgical, family, and social history.

Learn more: You can filter for patients based on Health Maintenance and Problem List criteria using PatientPulse.