Methodological bias that can reduce (or affect) the process of diagnostic construction in clinical settings

The diagnostic process is a fundamental element of practice in the clinical and healthcare fields in particular, both for its repercussions on patient healing and care and for the professionalism with which healthcare professionals carry out their roles. Deriving from the Greek dia-gnosis (knowing through), the diagnostic process is the cognitive process implemented by a healthcare professional in his or her work. Although “diagnosis,” at the level of common sense, is more widely used as a noun, it should be noted that the diagnostic process recalls the path of discovery implemented by professionals in reference to their categories of observation, leading to a definition of their work object. As part of an operation on the cardiovascular system, a surgeon will mainly work on the biochemical implications of that body part, while a physician struggling with the decision to conduct a plastic surgery on the face could have as an object not only the face but also the story of the person requesting the intervention.