Ethics & Law · patient case with 2 questions
Hypertensive woman who has not taken her medication
Patient: Adult female
Chief complaint: Attends for a scheduled appointment.
Background: Hypertension, treated with medication. She mentions to the dentist that she forgot to take her antihypertensive medication today.
Current findings: The dentist wishes to assess how consistently she actually takes it.
Question 1
Which question is most effective for assessing her true medication compliance?
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. “Did you take your medicine yesterday?”
- A. A defensible alternative, and open-ended recall questions are also well regarded. The source keyed the specific-day version.
- B. A leading question that signals the desired answer and reliably produces false reassurance.
- C. Anchoring the question to a specific, recent, concrete day is a recognised technique for eliciting accurate adherence information. It is answerable from memory, is harder to deflect with a vague generalisation, and avoids the social pressure that produces over-reporting.
- D. This is accusatory, presupposes non-compliance and will damage rapport and honesty.
Note: ⚠️ Both of the first two options are reasonable adherence questions. The principle worth carrying: ask specific, recent, non-judgemental, non-leading questions.
Question 2
Before proceeding, what is the essential immediate step?
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Measure her blood pressure
- A. Dismissing her before establishing the actual reading is premature.
- B. Administering another practitioner's prescription medication is outside the dentist's scope.
- C. Assuming without measuring is unsafe in a known hypertensive who has skipped a dose.
- D. CORRECT. A missed dose is a reason to MEASURE, not to assume. The blood pressure reading determines whether treatment proceeds, proceeds with a stress-reduction protocol and limited epinephrine, or is deferred for medical management.