Yumi Otaka, Yukinori Harada, Andrew Olson, Takuya Aoki, Taro Shimizu
{"title":"Lessons in clinical reasoning - pitfalls, myths, and pearls: a case of persistent dysphagia and patient partnership.","authors":"Yumi Otaka, Yukinori Harada, Andrew Olson, Takuya Aoki, Taro Shimizu","doi":"10.1515/dx-2024-0061","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Diagnostic excellence underscores the patient-centered diagnosis and patient engagement in the diagnostic process. In contrast to a patient-centered diagnosis, a doctor-centered diagnosis with a lack of patient engagement may inhibit the diagnostic process due to the lack of responsibility, disrupted information, and increased effect of cognitive biases, particularly in a situation where multiple physicians are involved. In this paper, we suggest a promising idea to enhance patient engagement in the diagnostic process by using written information by a patient about their perspective and experience, which can fill the gaps needed for diagnosis that doctors cannot find alone.</p><p><strong>Case presentation: </strong>A 38-year-old woman developed chest pain, which gradually worsened during the following two years. For two years, she was evaluated in multiple departments; however, no definitive diagnosis was made, and her condition did not improve. During this evaluation, she searched her symptoms and image findings online. She reached a possible diagnosis of 'esophageal achalasia.' Still, she could not tell her concerns to any physicians because she felt that her concerns were not correctly recognized, although she showed her notes that her symptoms were recorded. She finally consulted the department of internal medicine, where her notes and previous test results were thoroughly reviewed. The final diagnosis of esophageal achalasia was confirmed.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Doctors must organize an environment where patients can freely express their thoughts, emotions, and ideas regarding their diagnosis. Cogenerating visit notes using patient input through written communication can be a promising idea to facilitate patient engagement in the diagnostic process.</p>","PeriodicalId":11273,"journal":{"name":"Diagnosis","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Diagnosis","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1515/dx-2024-0061","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/11/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives: Diagnostic excellence underscores the patient-centered diagnosis and patient engagement in the diagnostic process. In contrast to a patient-centered diagnosis, a doctor-centered diagnosis with a lack of patient engagement may inhibit the diagnostic process due to the lack of responsibility, disrupted information, and increased effect of cognitive biases, particularly in a situation where multiple physicians are involved. In this paper, we suggest a promising idea to enhance patient engagement in the diagnostic process by using written information by a patient about their perspective and experience, which can fill the gaps needed for diagnosis that doctors cannot find alone.
Case presentation: A 38-year-old woman developed chest pain, which gradually worsened during the following two years. For two years, she was evaluated in multiple departments; however, no definitive diagnosis was made, and her condition did not improve. During this evaluation, she searched her symptoms and image findings online. She reached a possible diagnosis of 'esophageal achalasia.' Still, she could not tell her concerns to any physicians because she felt that her concerns were not correctly recognized, although she showed her notes that her symptoms were recorded. She finally consulted the department of internal medicine, where her notes and previous test results were thoroughly reviewed. The final diagnosis of esophageal achalasia was confirmed.
Conclusions: Doctors must organize an environment where patients can freely express their thoughts, emotions, and ideas regarding their diagnosis. Cogenerating visit notes using patient input through written communication can be a promising idea to facilitate patient engagement in the diagnostic process.
期刊介绍:
Diagnosis focuses on how diagnosis can be advanced, how it is taught, and how and why it can fail, leading to diagnostic errors. The journal welcomes both fundamental and applied works, improvement initiatives, opinions, and debates to encourage new thinking on improving this critical aspect of healthcare quality. Topics: -Factors that promote diagnostic quality and safety -Clinical reasoning -Diagnostic errors in medicine -The factors that contribute to diagnostic error: human factors, cognitive issues, and system-related breakdowns -Improving the value of diagnosis – eliminating waste and unnecessary testing -How culture and removing blame promote awareness of diagnostic errors -Training and education related to clinical reasoning and diagnostic skills -Advances in laboratory testing and imaging that improve diagnostic capability -Local, national and international initiatives to reduce diagnostic error