assessment /əses″mənt/ [L, assidere, to sit beside] , 1. (in a health care facility) an evaluation or appraisal of a condition. 2. the process of making such an evaluation. 3. (in a problem-oriented medical record) an examiner’s evaluation of the disease or condition based on the patient’s subjective report of the symptoms and course of the illness or condition and the examiner’s objective findings, including data obtained through laboratory tests, physical examination, medical history, and information reported by family members and other health care team members. See also nursing assessment, problem-oriented medical record. −assess, v.
