Sorry to keep you waiting. It's been a busy morning. The patient laughs nervously. I've been waiting two years to find out what's wrong with me. I know what you mean.
Pages rustle as the doctor flips through the chart.
Well, you know, when you first came in to see me, I was as confused about your symptoms as you. But with these test results and the changes you've been noticing over the last few months, I think we have a better idea of what's going on. A diagnosis is, first of all, a description of the patient as a sufferer of a particular disease process. A diagnosis can also be an explanation for patients who have had symptoms but do not know their cause. Giving a name to the problem may seem to resolve the mystery, such that even patients with intractable, chronic diseases may feel relief when diagnosed.