Physicians do get things wrong, remarkably often. Studies have shown that up to one in five patients are misdiagnosed.
Yet people are very reluctant to challenge doctors, who are perceived as being experts. Anxiety, stress and fear — emotions that are part and parcel of serious
illness — can distort our choices. Stress makes us prone to tunnel
vision, less likely to take in the information we need. Anxiety makes us
more risk-averse than we would be regularly and more deferential.
If patients want to control their own destinies, they cannot afford to leave their brains ( and heart and spine) at home !
They need to go well-prepared for medical consultations, by arming themselves with Information Therapy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/opinion/sunday/why-we-make-bad-decisions.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
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