[citation needed][1] The chief complaint is a concise statement describing the symptom, problem, condition, diagnosis, physician-recommended return, or other reason for a medical encounter.
[2] In some instances, the nature of a patient's chief complaint may determine if services are covered by health insurance.
The patient's initial comments to a physician, nurse, or other health care professionals are important for formulating differential diagnoses.
[citation needed] The collection of chief complaint data may be useful in addressing public health issues.
[7] In acute care settings, such as emergency rooms, reports of chest pain are among the most common chief complaints.