Diagnosing, fast and slow.
Postgrad Med J
; 97(1144): 103-109, 2021 Feb.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32595113
ABSTRACT
Diagnostic error is increasingly recognised as a source of significant morbidity and mortality in medicine. In this article, we will attempt to address several questions relating to clinical decision making; How do we decide on a diagnosis? Why do we so often get it wrong? Can we improve our critical faculties?We begin by describing a clinical vignette in which a medical error occurred and resulted in an adverse outcome for a patient. This case leads us to the concepts of heuristic thinking and cognitive bias. We then discuss how this is relevant to our current clinical paradigm, examples of heuristic thinking and potential mechanisms to mitigate bias.The aim of this article is to increase awareness of the role that cognitive bias and heuristic thinking play in medical decision making. We hope to motivate clinicians to reflect on their own patterns of thinking with an overall aim of improving patient care.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Pensamento
/
Erros de Diagnóstico
/
Tomada de Decisão Clínica
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Postgrad Med J
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article