Avoiding Cognitive Errors in Clinical Decision Making
Authors: Daniel Restrepo, Katrina A. Armstrong, Joshua P. Metlay
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2020)

Letters20 October 2020Avoiding Cognitive Errors in Clinical Decision MakingDaniel Restrepo, MD, Katrina A. Armstrong, MD, MS, and Joshua P. Metlay, MD, PhDDaniel Restrepo, MDMassachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts (D.R.)Search for more papers by this author, Katrina A. Armstrong, MD, MSMassachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School; Boston, Massachusetts (K.A.A., J.P.M.)Search for more papers by this author, and Joshua P. Metlay, MD, PhDMassachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School; Boston, Massachusetts (K.A.A., J.P.M.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L20-1060 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:Dr. Trowbridge and colleagues question our use of the term “errors of ego.” They suggest that we are essentially blaming individual physicians for cognitive errors that are committed because these physicians are reluctant to admit mistakes. We agree that there are many other, often external, factors at stake in our desire to reach a diagnosis quickly, with societal expectations and the pressures of clinical practice prominently influencing a physician's cognition. Yet, we believe that we must acknowledge that humans do tend to resist changing their minds once a decision has been made, because doing so creates a sense ...Reference1. Simpkin AL, Murphy Z, Armstrong KA. A randomized experimental study to assess the effect of language on medical students' anxiety due to uncertainty. Diagnosis (Berl). 2019;6:269-76. [PMID: 30753157] doi:10.1515/dx-2018-0050 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts (D.R.)Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School; Boston, Massachusetts (K.A.A., J.P.M.)Disclosures: Authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M19-3692. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoAnnals Clinical Decision Making: Avoiding Cognitive Errors in Clinical Decision Making Daniel Restrepo , Katrina A. Armstrong , and Joshua P. Metlay Avoiding Cognitive Errors in Clinical Decision Making Robert L. Trowbridge , Joseph J. Rencic , Thilan P. Wijesekera , and Andrew P.J. Olson Avoiding Cognitive Errors in Clinical Decision Making Daniel M. Musher Metrics Cited byAn exploration of expectations and perceptions of practicing physicians on the implementation of computerized clinical decision support systems using a Qsort approachCOVID-19 and the future of clinical epidemiology 20 October 2020Volume 173, Issue 8Page: 679KeywordsCognitionConflicts of interestDecision makingDisclosureHealth careMotivationReasoning ePublished: 20 October 2020 Issue Published: 20 October 2020 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2020 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...