The physician makes an educated guess and then runs some tests to verify that presumption.  That method suffers from “confirmation bias.” Confirmation bias means that the presumptive guess leads the practitioner to discount evidence that refutes that guess and emphasizes findings that validate the guess.  But the real issue lies in the fate of the patient receiving treatment for the wrong diagnosis.  Fortunately, computer technology offers a solution by generating a differential diagnosis automatically.  But society must insist that hospitals and clinics act on that opportunity.  Medical professionals have not generally supported the adoption of such an approach.  This book takes the reader through the ins and outs of this vital debate.  This problem affects more lives than America ever lost per year in automobile accidents.

The U.S. Government estimates that as many as 90,000 Americans die each year as a consequence of mistakes made in the process of reaching a medical diagnosis.  In other words, multiple studies find that one in seven efforts by medical practitioners to determine what causes a medical condition comes up with the wrong answer.  So, treatment is not efficacious, and bad outcomes occur.  The primary problem appears to be abandoning the differential diagnosis paradigm in favor of a time-saving approach we might call a “guess and verify strategy.”