Unique ready reference for all complementary medicine, massage, therapy
and manual therapy practitioners and students alerting them to 'red
flag' symptoms which should be referred for Western medical
investigation or emergency medical treatment.
When can a patient be safely reassured and when do they need further
investigation or treatment? 'Red flags' are clinical signs that suggest
a patient needs prompt investigation and treatment for a potentially
dangerous situation. Therapists increasingly find themselves working
alongside conventionally trained doctors and nurses and it is vital for
them to understand conventional medical diagnoses, symptoms and
treatments and, crucially, to recognise warning signs of serious
disease. This is essential in order to be a safe practitioner.
Clare Stephenson's The Complementary Therapist's Guide to Red Flags and
Referrals meets this need by providing an easily accessible reference
to 'red flag'symptoms, designed especially for therapists. It offers
guidance on how best to respond to those symptoms and signs of disease
which can be readily discerned through routine history taking and basic
examination of the body. The guidance is in language which is accessible
to therapists, and clear advice is offered on when to refer patients to
conventional medicine practitioners and how to communicate with doctors
when making a referral. Clinical syndromes which merit rapid response
are summarised for ease of reference.
