Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 12, 2025
07:31
Implementation of a Real-Time Psychosis Risk Detection and Alerting System Based on Electronic Health Records using CogStack
Published on: May 15, 2020
7.3K
'I Don't Have a Crystal Ball' - Why Do Doctors Tend to Avoid Prognostication?
Camilla Janett-Pellegri1,2, And Steffen Eychmüller2
1Service de Médicine Interne, Hôpital Cantonal Fribourg, Fribourg.
Praxis
|November 24, 2021
Summary
Physicians can provide honest prognostic information, even with uncertainty, as patients want the truth. Sensitive communication and conversational guides help manage difficult discussions about prognosis.
Area of Science:
- Medical Communication
- Palliative Care
- Oncology
Background:
- Prognostic disclosure is challenging for clinicians due to uncertainty, fear of harm, and time constraints.
- Patient-centered communication requires addressing these barriers effectively.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore physicians' perspectives on prognostic disclosure barriers.
- To identify strategies for effective and sensitive communication of prognosis to patients.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative analysis of physician experiences and perspectives.
- Review of communication strategies and patient desires regarding prognostic information.
Main Results:
- Key barriers include uncertainty, fear of causing harm, discomfort, and time limitations.
- Patients desire truthful prognostic information and can cope with uncertainty when communicated sensitively.
- Conversational guides can support clinicians in preparing for these discussions.
Conclusions:
- Communicating prognosis with 'realism and hope' is achievable.
- Anxiety is a normal response for both patients and clinicians during prognostic disclosure.
- Clinicians improve with experience in managing these difficult conversations.
Related Concept Videos
01:10Documentation of Nursing Diagnosis
1.4K
The nurse documents nursing diagnoses and enters them into the patient record. The identified patient's nursing diagnosis is either written out with a plan of care or entered into the electronic health record.
In some settings, data-driven computerized decision support systems are in place, allowing for more accurate nursing diagnoses. The database within one of these systems includes diagnostic labels defining characteristics, activities, and indicators for nursing. A nurse enters...
In some settings, data-driven computerized decision support systems are in place, allowing for more accurate nursing diagnoses. The database within one of these systems includes diagnostic labels defining characteristics, activities, and indicators for nursing. A nurse enters...
1.4K
01:52Regression Toward the Mean
6.5K
Regression toward the mean (“RTM”) is a phenomenon in which extremely high or low values—for example, and individual’s blood pressure at a particular moment—appear closer to a group’s average upon remeasuring. Although this statistical peculiarity is the result of random error and chance, it has been problematic across various medical, scientific, financial and psychological applications. In particular, RTM, if not taken into account, can interfere when...
6.5K
01:08The Availability Heuristic
6.6K
A heuristic is a general problem-solving framework (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974). You can think of these as mental shortcuts that are used to solve problems. Different types of heuristics are used in different types of situations, and the impulse to use a heuristic occurs when one of five conditions is met (Pratkanis, 1989):
6.6K
01:13Sensitivity, Specificity, and Predicted Value
793
In healthcare diagnostics, laboratory tests play a crucial role in identifying and diagnosing a wide range of medical conditions. However, interpreting test results is not always straightforward. An abnormal test result does not always confirm the presence of a disease, just as a normal result does not guarantee its absence. To assess the reliability of these diagnostic tools, healthcare practitioners rely on two key statistical indicators: sensitivity and specificity.
Sensitivity is the...
Sensitivity is the...
793
01:12Hindsight Biases
4.0K
Hindsight bias leads you to believe that the event you just experienced was predictable, even though it really wasn’t. In other words, you knew all along that things would turn out the way they did. Can you relate this to the phrase "Hindsight is 20/20" now?
4.0K
01:22Nursing Diagnosis
3.2K
Following assessment, a nursing diagnosis is the next step in the nursing process. It begins after the nurse has collected and recorded the patient data. The purpose of diagnosing is to identify how the client responds to actual or potential health processes, identify factors that bestow or that cause health problems, the etiologies, and identify resources or strengths the individual, group, or community can draw on to prevent or resolve problems.
The nursing diagnosis focuses on evidence-based...
The nursing diagnosis focuses on evidence-based...
3.2K