Making a proper diagnosis is a crucial step for physicians in developing a rational treatment plan to either cure disease or relieve suffering. Sometimes, using modern imaging technology and laboratory testing, diagnosis is a straightforward process. But other times, despite extensive testing, no coherent picture emerges from patients’ complaints. In her book, The Age of Diagnosis, Dr. Suzanne O’Sullivan, a neurologist, explores the complexities and potential pitfalls of the diagnostic process. She tries to make the case that there is much over-diagnosis in contemporary health care. She contends that many widely used designations like long COVID and chronic Lyme disease are labels given to vague and unrelated symptoms that are psychosomatic in origin yet have been used to satisfy patient anxiety and physician need for certainty.
The post The Diagnosis Dilemma appeared first on .
