Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS)
Monitors symptom burden in palliative care patients across 9 common symptoms
- Highest activation tier
- Recommended
- How it is scored
- Scored in code; a stated value is compared only from the structured summary or a supplied value
- Scoring type
- questionnaire
- Care settings
- Inpatient, Outpatient
When it activates
Scribeable activates a calculator from the encounter. The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) can activate when the transcript or pasted chart context documents any of these:
- Palliative symptom monitoring
- Symptom burden assessment
- Palliative treatment response tracking
Inputs the note needs
1 input. Each is resolved from the transcript, the pasted chart context and charted labs; at this calculator’s tier a missing input is never requested, and a missing required input keeps the score out of the draft.
| Input | Type | Unit / options | Guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| ESAS Total Symptom Distress Score (0-90) | symptom |
Scoring
9 symptoms (pain, tiredness, drowsiness, nausea, appetite, dyspnea, depression, anxiety, wellbeing) each 0-10. Total 0-90.
Interpretation
<30: Mild symptom burden. 30-59: Moderate symptom burden. ≥60: Severe symptom burden — aggressive symptom management needed.
Evidence
Sources carried in Scribeable's citation registry for this calculator; guideline version: Bruera 1991.
- Bruera E et al. The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS): a simple method for the assessment of palliative care patientsBruera et al. (ESAS) 1991 · 1991 · link last verified 2026-03-28
How Scribeable handles it in the note
When an encounter activates the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) (its highest tier is recommended), Scribeable does not ask you for missing inputs. The score is computed in code from whatever inputs resolve from the transcript, the pasted chart context or charted labs; a computed value is written into the draft only when every required input already resolves.
The score is computed in code from the resolved inputs, not recalled by the language model. A stated Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) value is compared against the computed one when the draft's structured summary carries it; a disagreement found there is flagged to the second drafting pass, which is instructed to correct the score and its interpretation, unless Scribeable has supplied the computed value to that pass, in which case the value the draft writes is checked against the supplied one and a detected difference is shown beside the note for you to adjudicate rather than silently rewritten.
Classified as a questionnaire: a patient-reported or clinician-rated instrument, where a spare activation carries low harm.
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