Cognitive Errors and Diagnostic Mistakes. A Case-Based Guide to Critical Thinking in Medicine

An introduction to cognitive biases and how they led to errors and impact medical diagnoses
Aggregate bias
Anchoring
Availability
Base-rate neglect
Commission bias
Diagnosis momentum
Feedback sanction
Framing effect
Fundamental attribution error
Gambler's fallacy
Gender bias
Hindsight bias
Multiple alternatives bias
Omission bias
Order effects
Outcome bias
Overconfidence bias
Playing the odds
Posterior probability error
Premature closure
Psych-out error
Representativeness restraint
Search satisfying
Sutton's slip
Triage cueing
Unpacking principle
Vertical line failure
Visceral bias
Yin Yang
Strategies to improve critical thinking and minimize cognitive biases/diagnostic errors

This case-based book illustrates and explores common cognitive biases and their consequences in the practice of medicine. The book begins with an introduction that explains the concept of cognitive errors and their importance in clinical medicine and current controversies within healthcare. The core of the book features chapters dedicated to particular cognitive biases; cases are presented and followed by a discussion of the clinician's rationale and an overview of the particular cognitive bias. Engaging and easy to read, this text provides strategies on minimizing cognitive errors in various medical and professional settings.

Jonathan Howard MD
Assistant Professor, Neurology and Psychiatry
NYU Langone Medical Center
New York, NY