(Oregon Research Institute, 1972) Hoffman, Paul J.
The primary task of clinical diagnosis is that of collecting , evaluating, and assimilating information with respect to the patient. The starting point is the information itself; this may be in the form of laboratory test results, biographical data, scores on psychological tests, manifest symptoms, or other observables. The end result is a judgment; this may take the form of a recommendation concerning treatment or discharge, a decision that certain other data are necessary before final judgment is made, or a classification of the patient into a diagnostic category. What intervenes between beginning and end is, for each clinician, a quite complex idiosyncratic process . It is the purpose of this paper to demonstrate that the process is capable of rigorous investigation and description.
