ABSTRACT
In healthcare, diagnosis generally refers to both the naming of disease as well as the process of coming to name disease. In terms of the latter definition, diagnosis is therefore a type of decision-making based on relevant data in the patient history, examination, and ancillary testing. In addition to this all-important healthcare diagnosis that drives appropriate treatment and management of a patient, there is psychosocial diagnosis (e.g. the patient’s background or perceived emotion like anger) in the doctor-patient interaction that is based on gathering relevant data using what is seen, heard, and felt. Both healthcare and psychosocial diagnosis are subject to cognitive bias, which is ingrained in typical human thought patterns. Awareness of potential bias is a first step in successfully counteracting unwarranted, misleading preconceptions that can negatively impact doctor-patient connection. Recognizing cognitive bias can improve doctor-patient connection and optimize healthcare.
