Arriving at a Medical Diagnosis Dr. Gary Mumaugh Disease Names - Essential Diagnostic Labels For thousands of years, physicians have recorded observations and studies about their patients. In accumulating these facts, they have recognized patterns of pathological structure and function. When these categories were distinctive, they were termed diseases and given specific names. Two Meanings of “Diagnosis” The name of the patient’s disease or state of altered function is termed “diagnosis” or diagnosis” “a In this instance, diagnosis is a name The act of searching for or determining the patient’s disease is commonly referred to as diagnosis” or making of a diagnosis” “a “the In this instance, diagnosis is a process The word diagnostician is rarely used The Diagnostic Step” “Four Step 1 Acquisition of Facts – Step 2 Evaluation of Facts – Step 3 Listing of Hypotheses – Step 4 Choosing Between Hypothesis also known as Differential Diagnosis (DD) – – Step 1 Acquisition of Facts – The medical history gives a chronology of the symptoms Symptoms are subjective They are reported by the patient The physical examination discloses physical signs Physical signs are objective Step 2 Evaluation of Facts – As new facts are acquired, you will repeatedly tests these facts for accuracy, reliability, and relevance to the patient’s problem. You must judge if the facts have been colored by the patient’s emotions. You must question the motives that may lead to distortion. You must conclude if the items are relevant or trivial to the identification of the patient’s disease.
Arriving at a Medical Diagnosis Dr. Gary Mumaugh Disease Names - Essential Diagnostic Labels For thousands of years, physicians have recorded observations and studies about their patients. In accumulating these facts, they have recognized patterns of pathological structure and function. When these categories were distinctive, they were termed diseases and given specific names. Two Meanings of “Diagnosis” The name of the patient’s disease or state of altered function is termed “diagnosis” or “a diagnosis” In this instance, diagnosis is a name The act of searching for or determining the patient’s disease is commonly referred to as “a diagnosis” or “the making of a diagnosis” In this instance, diagnosis is a process The word diagnostician is rarely used The Diagnostic “Four Step” Step 1 – Acquisition of Facts Step 2 – Evaluation of Facts Step 3 – Listing of Hypotheses Step 4 – Choosing Between Hypothesis – also known as Differential Diagnosis (DD) Step 1 – Acquisition of Facts The medical history gives a chronology of the symptoms Symptoms are subjective They are reported by the patient The physical examination discloses physical signs Physical signs are objective Step 2 – Evaluation of Facts As new facts are acquired, you will repeatedly tests these facts for accuracy, reliability, and relevance to the patient’s problem. You must judge if the facts have been colored by the patient’s emotions. You must question the motives that may lead to distortion. You must conclude if the items are relevant or trivial to the identification of the patient’s disease.
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