Where Doctors Go Wrong
In this article and in his new book "How Doctors Think", Dr. Groopman discusses the 80% of medical mistakes that are the result of predictable mental traps, or cognitive errors, that bedevil all human beings, including:
Representative diagnosis error: We discount from our differential diagnoses, a disease or condition that does not fit with 'our' mental template of that disease [that we consider as not being representative of our template of the disease]. Availability diagnosis error: We discount from our differential diagnoses, a disease or condition that we are not familiar with or have not seen recently. Commission bias: We prefer to act even when in doubt about the nature of the problem. Affective diagnosis error: Errors we make influenced by our affective state.(Note: How long will it be before we begin to take a look at computer-based diagnostic support systems, again?) In this article and in his new book "How Doctors Think", Dr. Groopman discusses the 80% of medical mistakes that are the result of predictable mental traps, or cognitive errors, that bedevil all human beings, including: