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Diagnostic Errors

Definition: Incorrect diagnoses after clinical examination or technical diagnostic procedures.
Notes: IM; coord with specific dis /diag (IM) & specific diag procedure; do not confuse with differ diag; DF: DIAG ERR
Previously Indexed: Diagnosis (1966-1969)

Diagnostic Errors Categories.
False Negative Reactions - Negative test results in subjects who possess the attribute for which the test is conducted. The labeling of diseased persons as healthy when screening in the detection of disease. (Last, A Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)
False Positive Reactions - Positive test results in subjects who do not possess the attribute for which the test is conducted. The labeling of healthy persons as diseased when screening in the detection of disease. (Last, A Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)
Observer Variation - The failure by the observer to measure or identify a phenomenon accurately, which results in an error. Sources for this may be due to the observer's missing an abnormality, or to faulty technique resulting in incorrect test measurement, or to misinterpretation of the data. Two varieties are inter-observer variation (the amount observers vary from one another when reporting on the same material) and intra-observer variation (the amount one observer varies between observations when reporting more than once on the same material).

Diagnostic Errors Definitions and Terms

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