Question

What constitutes an actual diagnosis vs. an opinion

Answer 1

A diagnosis can, in fact, be both!

All so-called facts or opinions, may be considered by others to be totally incorrect.

• Being serious for a moment, there are many kinds of diagnoses. A differential diagnosis is a series of potential diagnoses, one of which is likely to be correct.
• A solid diagnosis is one which the physician feels competent to make, and be fairly certain of being correct.
• A potential diagnosis is something one thinks the problem may, in fact, ultimately turn out to be.
• An incorrect diagnosis is one which the person making the diagnosis feels may be wrong.
• A spot diagnosis is one where the doctor is testing his observational skills, and trying to make a diagnosis after a brief glance at his patient.

Put simply, when a doctor makes, what he believes to be the correct diagnosis, he has usually taken a history, examined the patient, had various tests and investigations performed, and as a result of all of these, come to the conclusion that he now knows what is amiss.

Unfortunately, there are no absolutes in Medicine, and a good physician should always be prepared to reconsider the diagnosis he makes, initially, based upon future events.

The word diagnosis is not a magic word. In fact, it can be applied to almost anything in life.