Today, clinicians feel intense pressure to give high quality care in an efficient, cost-effective, and timely manner. Many disorders present with similar symptom profiles. In these situations, psychological testing can make crucial differential diagnoses, freeing the clinician to focus on treatment. Appropriate use of psychological testing provides patients the highest standard of care and reduces the risk of costly diagnostic or therapeutic errors. Control A boy shows impulsive and agitated behaviors in the classroom and is failing his classes.
Several teachers complain.
By adding neuro-psychological and psychological testing to the standard clinical assessment, clinicians may rapidly distinguish psychological contributions from neurological, pharmacological, or other medical etiologies. Psychological testing, when combined with suitable medical tests, not only provides a precise diagnosis, but also indicates the severity of the patient's deficits and the disease trajectory. Clinicians who use psychological testing can serve this growing population well by offering effective treatment to a difficult group. This adult patient complains of work difficulties, problems in relationships, insomnia, and many vague physical symptoms, and may want to take sick or disability leave from employment. A work-up that includes psychological testing enables the clinician to distinguish between depression, stress, malingering, and drug or alcohol abuse.