Making a diagnosis is perhaps the most frequently performed and important procedure in an internist's wheelhouse. Indeed, a patient's therapeutic options and prognosis often center around the right diagnosis being made in a timely fashion. Unfortunately, diagnostic errors are common, with frequency estimates ranging from 10% to 40% in some studies (1, 2). Furthermore, misdiagnosis is more likely to be considered negligent and have proportionately higher morbidity and morbidity than other errors (3, 4).
Cognitive psychology research over the past 40 years has led to the development of dual process theory, wherein 2 central cognitive systems, system 1 and system ...
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Author, Article, and Disclosure Information
Daniel Restrepo,
Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts (D.R., K.A.A., J.P.M.)
Disclosures: Authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M19-3692.
Corresponding Author: Daniel Restrepo, MD, Core Educator Faculty and Hospital Medicine Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 50 Staniford Street, Suite 550, Boston, MA 02114; e-mail, drestrepo1@mgh.
Current Author Addresses: Dr. Restrepo: Core Educator Faculty and Hospital Medicine Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 50 Staniford Street, Suite 550, Boston, MA 02114.
Dr. Armstrong: Massachusetts General Hospital, Gray-Bigelow 7, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114.
Dr. Metlay: Division of General Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 100 Cambridge Street, 16th Floor, Boston, MA 02114.
Author Contributions: Conception and design: D. Restrepo, K.A. Armstrong, J.P. Metlay.
Analysis and interpretation of the data: J.P. Metlay.
Drafting of the article: D. Restrepo, K.A. Armstrong, J.P. Metlay.
Critical revision of the article for important intellectual content: K.A. Armstrong, J.P. Metlay.
Final approval of the article: D. Restrepo, K.A. Armstrong, J.P. Metlay.
Administrative, technical, or logistic support: K.A. Armstrong.
This article was published at Annals.org on 21 April 2020.
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