Social History
Social History records employment and substance-use details (smoking, drugs, alcohol, and related) for care planning. Open it from the patient chart after the patient is saved. It is separate from Family History (relatives’ diseases) and ROS (symptom checklist by body system).
What Social History Is For
Staff document social and lifestyle facts that affect care—especially employment status and substance use (how much, when it started, and whether it stopped). The screen title explains it as managing employment, smoking, drugs, and alcohol. This is not where you enter the patient’s own medical diagnoses (use Problem List) or family diseases (use Family History).
Where and When to Use It
Open the patient chart → Social History during intake, rooming, or visits when lifestyle history is collected or updated. Use it before counseling on smoking cessation or documenting alcohol/drug use. Use ROS for today’s symptom review; use Medications for prescribed drugs.
How the Screen Works
You see a list (with a count) and an Add button when permitted. Columns typically include Employment, Substance, Usage, Status, and Actions. Status may show as Active, Discontinued, or None. Search by employment or substance type, and filter by employment. Long lists use pages. Cross-clinic or permission limits may restrict what you can change.
Fields on Add / Edit
Employment Status options often include Employed, Unemployed, Retired, Student, Self-employed, Part-time, Full-time, Other. Substance Type: Smoking, Drugs, Alcohol, Other. Usage per day describes how much. When it started is a date (often defaults to today on add). Is it discontinued? turns on an End date when the use has stopped. Cancel closes without saving; Submit or Update saves.
How to Add Social History
Click Add → choose Employment Status and Substance Type → enter Usage per day → set When it started → leave discontinued off if still active (or turn it on and set End date) → Submit. Confirm the patient is saved first; Add Patient mode does not show this tab until after create.
How to Edit or Delete
Edit: open the pencil on a row → change fields → Update. Delete: use trash → confirm Delete Social History when asked. You need edit or delete permission for those actions. If view is denied, you see that you do not have permission to view Social History.
Search, Filters, and Empty States
Search by employment or substance (for example Smoking). Filter employment when the list is busy. Empty list: No Social History / patient has no social history recorded—use Add Social History. Filtered empty: No Matching Results—clear search or filter.
Common Issues
Tab missing: still on Add Patient before save, or missing Social History tab permission. Cannot add/edit/delete: missing that record permission. Entering mother’s diabetes here: use Family History. Entering chest pain checklist: use ROS. Entering daily prescriptions: use Medications.