"To establish a more organized structure, medical students and residents are being taught to follow preset algorithms and practice guidelines in the form of decision trees. This method is also being touted by certain administrators to senior staff in many hospitals in the United States and Europe. Insurance companies have also found it particularly attractive in deciding whether to approve the use of certain diagnostic tests or treatments….
“Clinical algorithms can be useful for run-of-the mill diagnosis and treatment – distinguishing strep throat from viral pharyngitis, for example. But they quickly fall apart when a doctor needs to think outside their boxes, when symptoms are vague, or multiple and confusing, or when test results are inexact.”
It is helpful in emerging diseases for doctors and researchers to think methodically, and to build on the solid work of others. But it is also necessary to be ready for the unexpected, both in symptoms and response to treatment, in order to put together the entire picture of pathology and to be of best assistance to the patient.
Groopman, J. (2007). How Doctors Think. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
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