Why it’s sometimes better for a doctor to wait than act
When a diagnosis is not clear, the best decision may occasionally be to bide time until a doctor is in a better position to discover what he needs to know.
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Doctors sometimes decide to wait before taking a decisive decision because time may reveal something that another test today cannot, says the writer.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: UNSPLASH
Mathias Goyen
In medicine, waiting can sometimes look like the absence of a decision, especially when a scan has revealed something that cannot yet be explained with confidence. That is because, once an abnormality has been found, one understandably wants to know what it is, whether it matters and what should be done about it.
In such cases, ordering another test, performing a biopsy or beginning treatment can feel more decisive than asking a patient to return in three months.