Please copy or forward to your Clinician.

           Ten Commandments to Reduce  

                       Diagnostic Errors              

 1.  Thou shalt First “Do No Harm.”

 2.  Thou shalt think of serious and treatable conditions and act on them without delay.

 3.Thou shalt remember that Diagnosis is History,History, History. Then confirm with clinical examination and more History.

 4.  Thou shalt request a test only if it will change your plan or help in predicting the outcome.

 5.  Thou shalt question “authority” such as your senior residents, attendings, experts, or even National guidelines.

 6.  Thou shalt continue the debate and questioning even though the data is “IN.”

 7.  Thou shalt maintain a high index of suspicion for uncommon presentations of the common.

 8.  Thou shalt recognize your own beliefs, biases, prejudices, and thinking style.

 9.  Thou shalt be wary of your hunches and intuitions; It is better to use Evidence Based Medicine.

10. Thou shalt have a Pilot in your palm.

Given to his Son Len and Class 2001 Tufts University School of Medicine From Dr. Leonardo Leonidas, Bangor, Maine   20 May 2001  Copyright 2001

Please copy this and give to your clinician, or friends who are in the health care profession.

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Leo Leonidas, MD, FAAP, Assistant Clinical Professor in Pediatrics, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston; Attending Pediatrician, Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor, Maine.