Readers of this blog know that the most common form of medical malpractice is misdiagnosis. There are a number of reasons doctors misdiagnose patients. Among them are impatience on the part of the doctor, a rare illness or a common illness with an unusual presentation, the presence of confirmation bias, and some others. One of the others is a poor history from the patient.
A good patient history is an essential part of the diagnostic process: What are your symptoms? When did they begin? Are they constant or do they come and go? Tell me about family illnesses. With what
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