Death of a 29-Year-Old Male from Undifferentiated Sepsis

Table 2

Forms of cognitive failure addressed by Groopman and Hartzband’s questions.

What else could this be?	Is there something that does not fit?	Is there more than one diagnosis?
Reminds physician to think widely and consider rare but significant diagnoses; can prevent premature closure bias, that is, settling on a diagnosis before it has been adequately substantiated by clinical evidence	Reminds physician to consider whether each data point fits with proposed diagnosis; can prevent anchoring bias, that is, the tendency not to reevaluate a diagnosis even when presented with information that contradicts it	Reminds physician that conditions can coexist; can prevent anchoring bias and diagnosis momentum, that is, trend for clinicians not to challenge a diagnosis once established