List and definition of biases that occur in the diagnosis and management of disease
| . | Definition . |
|---|---|
| Diagnostic biases | |
| Confirmation | Selectively gathering and interpreting evidence that confirms a diagnosis and ignoring evidence that might disconfirm it |
| Representativeness | Overemphasizing evidence that strongly resembles a class of events. Can lead to undervaluing of relevant base rates, ignoring regression to the mean, and gambler’s fallacy |
| Availability | Overestimating the probability of a diagnosis when instances are relatively easy to recall |
| Hindsight | Overestimating the probability of a diagnosis when the correct diagnosis is already known |
| Regret | Overestimating the probability of a diagnosis with severe possible outcome because of anticipated regret if diagnosis were missed |
| Treatment biases | |
| Omission | Determining that detrimental actions are more harmful than inactions |
| Framing | Choosing riskier treatments when they are described in negative (eg, mortality) rather than positive (eg, survival) terms |
| Number of alternatives | Choosing a given treatment option more often when there are additional alternatives |
| . | Definition . |
|---|---|
| Diagnostic biases | |
| Confirmation | Selectively gathering and interpreting evidence that confirms a diagnosis and ignoring evidence that might disconfirm it |
| Representativeness | Overemphasizing evidence that strongly resembles a class of events. Can lead to undervaluing of relevant base rates, ignoring regression to the mean, and gambler’s fallacy |
| Availability | Overestimating the probability of a diagnosis when instances are relatively easy to recall |
| Hindsight | Overestimating the probability of a diagnosis when the correct diagnosis is already known |
| Regret | Overestimating the probability of a diagnosis with severe possible outcome because of anticipated regret if diagnosis were missed |
| Treatment biases | |
| Omission | Determining that detrimental actions are more harmful than inactions |
| Framing | Choosing riskier treatments when they are described in negative (eg, mortality) rather than positive (eg, survival) terms |
| Number of alternatives | Choosing a given treatment option more often when there are additional alternatives |
Adapted from Bornstein and Emler6 with permission. These biases are common in the practice of medicine, and likely more frequent in a rare disease, such as SCD.