Medical diagnosis
The information required for a diagnosis is typically collected from a history and physical examination of the person seeking medical care.
A diagnosis, in the sense of diagnostic procedure, can be regarded as an attempt at classification of an individual's condition into separate and distinct categories that allow medical decisions about treatment and prognosis to be made.
[citation needed] The initial task is to detect a medical indication to perform a diagnostic procedure.
[4]: 204 The method of differential diagnosis is based on finding as many candidate diseases or conditions as possible that can possibly cause the signs or symptoms, followed by a process of elimination or at least of rendering the entries more or less probable by further medical tests and other processing, aiming to reach the point where only one candidate disease or condition remains as probable.
[citation needed] If unexpected findings are made during this process, the initial hypothesis may be ruled out and the provider must then consider other hypotheses.
This may be the primary method used in cases where diseases are "obvious", or the provider's experience may enable him or her to recognize the condition quickly.
[citation needed] The term diagnostic criteria designates the specific combination of signs and symptoms, and test results that the clinician uses to attempt to determine the correct diagnosis.
In contrast, clinical decision support systems that "support" but do not replace the clinician are deemed to be "Augmented Intelligence" if it meets the FDA criteria that (1) it reveals the underlying data, (2) reveals the underlying logic, and (3) leaves the clinician in charge to shape and make the decision.
[9] It is a problem because it turns people into patients unnecessarily and because it can lead to economic waste[10] (overutilization) and treatments that may cause harm.
[11] Most people will experience at least one diagnostic error in their lifetime, according to a 2015 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
The first recorded examples of medical diagnosis are found in the writings of Imhotep (2630–2611 BC) in ancient Egypt (the Edwin Smith Papyrus).
[16] A Babylonian medical textbook, the Diagnostic Handbook written by Esagil-kin-apli (fl.1069–1046 BC), introduced the use of empiricism, logic and rationality in the diagnosis of an illness or disease.
[17] Traditional Chinese Medicine, as described in the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon or Huangdi Neijing, specified four diagnostic methods: inspection, auscultation-olfaction, inquiry and palpation.
After the initial diagnostic impression, the clinician obtains follow up tests and procedures to get more data to support or reject the original diagnosis and will attempt to narrow it down to a more specific level.
Nancy McWilliams identifies five reasons that determine the necessity for diagnosis: Sub-types of diagnoses include: Signs and symptomsSyndromeDisease Medical diagnosisDifferential diagnosisPrognosis AcuteChronicCure Eponymous diseaseAcronym or abbreviationRemission
