The Southern Medical Journal (SMJ) is the official, peer-reviewed journal of the Southern Medical Association. It has a multidisciplinary and inter-professional focus that covers a broad range of topics relevant to physicians and other healthcare specialists.
SMJ // Article
Perspectives
Diagnosis versus Hypothesis: Optimal Terminology to Enhance Clinical Reasoning
Abstract
With its usual precision, the Oxford English Dictionary defines diagnosis as the “determination of the nature of a diseased condition.”1 At what point in evaluating a patient have we actually determined the cause of their condition? We propose that when physicians have completed their initial evaluation of a newly hospitalized patient with history, physical examination, and laboratory and imaging studies, in many cases, they have not yet arrived at a diagnosis. Rather, what they have is a hypothesis that, with additional observation and data, may lead to a diagnosis. In this short essay, we discuss reasons to favor the use of the term hypothesis instead of diagnosis when evaluating patients.This content is limited to qualifying members.
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References
1. Oxford English Dictionary. Diagnosis. https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?scope= Entries&q=diagnosis. Accessed 2024.
2. Loncharich MF, Robbins RC, Durning SJ, et al. Cognitive biases in internal medicine: a scoping review. Diagnosis (Berlin) 2023;10:205–214.
