International Journal of Human and Health Sciences. Supplementary Issue: 2021 
 

S13 
 

The Importance of Clinical History Taking when Assessing Patient 

Suspected Positive COVID-19 

 

Zainul Ikhwan Ahmad Khusairi, Kartik K, Ahmad Bilal AN, Chung WM 

Emergency and Trauma Department, Taiping Hospital, Perak DarulRidzuan, Malaysia 
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.31344/ijhhs.v5i0.304 

 

Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic is an on-going devastating global event. It starts from 

December 2019 and is yet to resolve. To date, there are more than 25 million people diagnosed 

and 850 thousand deaths with COVID-19 (CDC, 2020). Healthcare services throughout the 

world are facing immense challenges. History taking has been inevitably the most emphasized 

tool in approaching all patients. However, the usefulness of medical history strongly depends 

on the patient’s story offered. Incorrect or hidden history may not only bring wrong diagnosis 

but endanger health care personnel. 

 

Objectives: This case series is aimed to describe the importance of clinical history-taking in 

assessing patients associated with COVID-19 symptoms or history. 

 

Methods: Assessment through interview method in taking patient history was used. The focus 

of history taking was related to health and COVID-19 history. The data collected is a type of 

secondary data from medical reports of patients who come to receive medical services at the 

Emergency and Trauma Department, General Public Hospital Taiping, Perak. A total of three 

cases are taken using the purposive sampling technique. Data is analysed and presented in the 

form of qualitative data. 

 

Results: This study found that the clinical history taking through interview method has 

successfully identified three patients with positive COVID-19 through assessment conducted. 

 

Conclusion: Therefore, the study proved that effective history taking implemented by 

paramedics was able to identify patients with positive COVID-19 and to plan an appropriate 

management and help them get discharged without complications. All physicians and other 

health care practitioners in the Emergency Department or in the clinical ward are also advised 

to be more competent by increasing their level of knowledge and skills related to assessing 

patients through effective clinical history taking. 

 

Keywords: clinical history taking, COVID-19, severe acute respiratory illness (SARI), 

emergency department 

 

 

 

 

  

http://dx.doi.org/10.31344/ijhhs.v5i0.304