In a new book titled, "How Doctors Think," Dr. Jerome Groopman examines the thought processes and assumptions that lead to misdiagnoses.
Fifteen percent to 20 percent of medical diagnoses are wrong; half or more of these incorrect diagnoses result in serious injury or death. Over a quarter of all radiological tests, including CAT scans and MRIs, are also misread.
The book examines stories such as that of a woman who was misdiagnosed by close to 30 doctors until she finally came across one who both listened to her and asked a fresh set of questions. Dr. Groopman notes that, on average, a doctor will interrupt a patient during the first 18 seconds of a visit.
Groopman calls this problem anchoring -- quickly seizing on a particular diagnosis, and letting that judgment color all subsequent thinking. He also identifies a second problem, attribution, where stereotypes lead doctors to make bad assumptions about patients.
Groopman's own first child developed a dangerous intestinal obstruction that was misdiagnosed as a simple virus by a doctor who was convinced that Groopman was a neurotic first-time parent.
