Five pitfalls in decisions about diagnosis and prescribing
- 31 March 2005
- Vol. 330 (7494) , 781-783
- https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.330.7494.781
Abstract
Introduction Psychologists have studied the cognitive processes involved in decision making extensively and have identified many factors that lead people astray. Because doctors' decisions have profound effects on their patients' health, these decisions should be of the best possible quality. All doctors should therefore be aware of possible pitfalls in medical decision making and take steps to avoid these unnecessary errors. In this article, I present five examples of cognitive biases that can affect medical decision making and offer suggestions for avoiding them.Keywords
This publication has 15 references indexed in Scilit:
- The representativeness heuristic: influence on nurses’ decision makingApplied Nursing Research, 2003
- Misidentification, in-filling and confirmation biasAnaesthesia, 2001
- Medical Heuristics: The Silent Adjudicators of Clinical PracticeAnnals of Internal Medicine, 1996
- Oncologists and primary care physicians' attitudes toward pain control and morphine prescribing in franceCancer, 1995
- Development of a test of cognitive bias in medical decision makingAcademic Medicine, 1994
- Abuse potential of various opioid medicationsJournal of General Internal Medicine, 1993
- Physician judgment in clinical settings: methodological influences and cognitive performanceClinical Chemistry, 1993
- Availability, Wishful Thinking, and Physicians' Diagnostic Judgments for Patients with Suspected BacteremiaMedical Decision Making, 1991
- American Opiophobia:Advances in Alcohol & Substance Abuse, 1985
- Physician and Medical Student Bias in Evaluating Diagnostic InformationMedical Decision Making, 1981