Whenever a doctor cannot do good, he must be kept from doing harm. Hippocrates
Do you remember those Doctor's queries the last time you went to the hospital? Yes you do. It can be very unpleasant. Many people tell me: "you doctors ask a lot of questions". Well those questions are very necessary for doctors to solve your problem.
But they don't ask any kind of questions and the later follow rhythms or pathways. Their secret lies in what they call ALGORITHMS.
[caption id="attachment_13536" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Example of Headache Algorithm[/caption]It involves the use of directed questions that will guide them to take the best decision. The most difficult part of Medicine is Diagnosis which comes from two Greek words: dia ‘apart’ and gignoskein ‘to learn or recognise’. Doctors don't diagnose what they don't think of.
Hint: Doctors are mostly incapable of knowing what is happening inside your body if they don't ask questions.
In Medical school, they are taught to use the essential resources to get the best results (efficiency against effectiveness) and the most essential resource is collecting medical history including those questions that you don't enjoy. The Medical Algorithms Company is a website with over 24000 algorithms, analytics and documentation for evidence-based medical practice over nearly all specialties.
So next time you see a doctor, you can help him know what is happening to you. It helps them a lot and everybody will go home satisfied.
Understanding how Doctors think was written by Dr. Nnamdi Elenwoke for Docotal.
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