Why Aren’t Doctors Better At Diagnosing Illnesses?

A 2015 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found that “most people will experience at least one diagnostic error in their lifetime, sometimes with devastating consequences.” In her new book “The Elusive Body: Patients Doctors, and the Diagnosis Crisis,” journalist Alexandra Sifferlin looks into what has been done in the decade since that report to improve the accuracy of diagnoses. We talk to Sifferlin and a UCSF doctor profiled in the book about why, despite enormous strides in medicine, the medical system often fails patients in this fundamental task and what it means to live without an accurate diagnosis.

Guests:

Alexandra Sifferlin, health and science editor, The New York Times; author, "The Elusive Body: Patients, Doctors, and the Diagnosis Crisis"

Gurpreet Dhaliwal, professor of medicine, UCSF

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