RESEARCH - Misdiagnoses caused in part by overconfidence

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Misdiagnoses Caused in Part by Overconfidence

from WebMD — a health information Web site for patients

April 30, 2008 — Most of the time a medical diagnosis is on point. But

misdiagnoses do occur, and an overly confident doctor may be partly to

blame, a new review suggests.

The rate of diagnostic error is as high as 15%, Eta S. Berner, EdD,

and Mark L. Graber, MD, write in a special edition of The American

Journal of Medicine dedicated to understanding and addressing

diagnostic errors.

Physician overconfidence and a lack of feedback following a diagnosis

are two important contributors to the problem, they note.

" When directly questioned, many clinicians find it inconceivable that

their own error rate could be as high as the literature demonstrates, "

Berner and Graber write. " They acknowledge that diagnostic error

exists, but believe the rate is very low, and that any errors are made

by others who are less skillful or less careful. "

Berner says it is often the cases physicians perceive as routine and

unchallenging that end up being misdiagnosed.

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Read the rest of the article here:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/573828

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Not an MD