Stranger,

It depends on why they've come to see you. If they have a sore throat, you really need to know how to take an acute case and be sure you don't mix up their chronic symptoms and include them in your repertorization. In that case, a two hour case would surely be inappropriate.

In a sore throat, you would ask:
What side did it start on? Where is it now?
Is one side worse than the other?
What is the sensation?
What's it like swallowing?
What helps it--hot drinks? Cold drinks?
What makes it worse--hot, cold, empty swallowing, etc.
Did it come on suddenly or gradually?
Is there an etiology, such as exposure to cold, dry winds, etc.
What's the appearance--bright red? white patches on tonsils, etc.?
Are there swollen glands?
Is there bad breath?
Salivation?
Is there a striking mental/emotional feature, like the Ars. restlessness and anxiety and need for company?
Is there a clear agg. time, like the Lyc. < 4-8 PM

And then, you should have a sore throat differential you can refer to, which is to say,
there are remedies that are commonly used in sore throats, like Belladonna, Merc., Lachesis, Phytolacca, Lac-can., Arsenicum, Lyc., Aconite, Rhust tox, Bapt., Arum trip., Nit-ac., etc. that have distinctive pictures, and if your client matches one of them, your work is over very quickly, maybe in 15 or 20 minutes, and you can be on to your next patient.

About 20% of the time, your differential isn't going to help you, and for those cases you'll have to use your repertory, and hopefully you'll have CARA or MacRepertory to make this go faster.

Every patient does not have to be seen for 2 hours.

Snoopy

[ 02. February 2003, 18:23: Message edited by: Snoopy ]